DangaronpaV4-2: REboot (SYOC CLOSED)
by hurgleplargh
Summary: Everything has an audience, no matter how small. And every audience has a desire that needs to be fulfilled. Danganronpa's here to do that, bringing it back with a brand new Killing Game, filled with blood, tears, and complicated, ruthless murders that you'll just sink your teeth into! Or so we hope. Ratings can only go up when they've hit rock bottom after all. *MAJOR V3 SPOILERS*
1. Prologue and Form

Cloudless skies hung above it. A tall, pristine building, built up with bricks and faded borders for that antique aesthetic. Beneath it: freshly cut, dewy grass. Above it: the glorious sun, shining down on a glorious school. "Glorious" truly was a fitting term. Everyday I walked up to the front doors, I felt undeserving. The fact that I got to even set foot on such a prestigious campus was such a blessing, especially considering who I was and what I did. My so-called _"talent"_ , my so-called _"hope"_ \- I questioned everyday if it was fit for the newly reestablished _Hope's Peak Academy._

And to be in the 2nd Class even, surrounded by 15 other, extremely talented classmates... The student beside me could graduate and, one day, explore every inch of the skies. The class president could go on to actually take control over the whole country. My best friend could achieve bigger and take over the entire world. The quiet kid in the back could cure cancer. The possibilities and potential of these talented people I call my friends... It's so ridiculous, it's almost like a delusion. It doesn't seem real.

It doesn't seem real.

Every step I take into this academy, gripping my backpack, thinking of the conversations I'll share with my fellow classmates - it doesn't seem real.

My name is _Ryuu Maekawa_ , and my life doesn't seem real. And that makes me the happiest man on Earth.

I was scouted by Hope's Peak Academy about 5 months ago, just as they were finishing construction. The name holds a bit of controversy, as it's known for being the school where The Tragedy first stuck. Even when the war calmed and society started to rebuild itself, the name of the shut-down academy was used for The Killing Game series, a live, reality game show created by Team Danganronpa to entertain those who missed the excitement and rush of the Tragedy. Though violent and destructive, everyone let The Killing Games slide by, as it's entertainment kept a lot of violent people at bay. Hell, even I got a bit of a kick watching the games when I was a kid. But The Killing Games ended when it's ratings hit an all-time low, when the students of the 53rd game solved it and purposefully gave the viewers a pretty crappy ending. It's a shame. I really wanted Shuichi to survive.

But once The Killing Games were over, a number of rich people funded the rebirth of the real Hope's Peak Academy. And that's where I stood. Right in the centre of a extravagant lobby made of marble and stained glass. To my right was a beautiful hologram, projecting old, old photos of various successful students from the old Hope's Peak Academy. How could I possibly believe I'm meant to be here? I'm the _Ultimate Male Courtesan_. How does that even compare to the impeccable talents on this wall?

One day, would _my name_ be on this wall? Would people look up to me? Would they laugh at my talent? Would they even give me a second glance?

What role in this universe would Hope's Peak give me?

 _ ***BBRRRRIINNNNNGGGGG***_

Oh, pfft. What am I doing, inner-monologuing to myself? I've got to get to class! I still have to meet with my friend and ask if I can borrow her note-

 _ ***Cough* *Cough***_

I brought my hand to my lips.

 _"What...?"_

I looked down at my fingers.

And I saw blood.

"W-What the-" I couldn't even manage a full sentence without coughing up another flood of warm, deep-coloured blood. It splatted down my neck, seeping into my clothes. And as I raised my hands to see the waterfall of blood I tried to carry, I noticed my fingers gradually turning blue and purple, like bruises forming and growing by the second. I realized I couldn't feel my fingers anymore, and when the bruises spread to my wrists, I couldn't feel or control any part of my hands. I screamed for help, but it just came out in garbles of blood.

The world turned hazy. My thought process slowed down. There was no pain, just utter confusion and horror.

 _What's... happening...?_

I looked down and saw a needle in my arm.

 _Where... am... I?_

A harsh light washed over me.

 _...Who... am... I?_

Someone whispered to me, _"I'd love to know, Ryuu Maekawa."_

* * *

I woke up on a bed. There were no needles dug into my arm. No bruises on my fingers. I lifted my hand to my lips and felt chapped skin, just begging to be peeled. No blood. It felt like I hadn't had any liquids in years.

My dry throat painfully begging for water, I rolled myself towards the edge of the bed. I took in my surroundings. There were 7 other beds, designed like little space pods with glowing strips of green on the sides. Some seemed to still be occupied by other guys my age, others were empty with the covers thrown. It seemed like the beds were the only pieces of furniture here, but the beds were quite spread out to fill the spacious rectangular room. I looked to my right to a ginormous window, barred with metal white poles to match the colour of the floors and walls. Unfortunately, I couldn't see out the window. The glass on the outside seemed to be covered with a white sheet or something.

The only thing what wasn't white in this room (besides maybe the strips of green lights on the beds) was a little purple camera at the top corner of the window. It pointed down at me, staring at me. Analyzing me.

"What the hell is this?" I said, and then a beep answered me.

I reached into my pocket, surprised to find some sort of thin device with Hope's Peak Academy's logo stamped over a strip of white and a strip of black. I clicked a button on the side, and suddenly a green hologram projected just above it.

A series of ellipsis flashed before me.

 **...**

 **...**

 **...REBOOTING...**

 **...**

 **...**

Then a logo: a logo I recognized from my childhood.

 _ **.::~Welcome to Danganronpa~::.**_

* * *

 ** _Hello people! Yes, it is another SYOC story. I don't know why I started this. If I'm being perfectly honest, I don't know if I'll have a lot of time to update frequently. Buuuuuttttttt I'm very inspired right now, and I have a couple of ideas up my sleeve for this. I've never done one of these, so I'm hoping I can pull it off :)_**

 ** _As you can probably tell, this game is set after V3. This story is based off my own theories regarding the ending, in which the 1st and 2nd game took place in reality, and when the riots and wars calmed, Team Danganronpa created The Killing Games for people who missed the chaos. Then it was ended by the characters in V3, but now... it seems someone wants to start it up again. Just so you know, I'll probably change the rating to M after I fill up the cast._**

 ** _I'm gonna need 14 other students (I've got one spot reserved for a friend), so send any of your characters in! Just make sure to read the rules below and fully fill out the form in as much detail as possible._**

 ** _RULES:_**

 ** _1\. Please only PM your OCs. The form needs to be filled out in a lot of detail, so don't use the reviewing system. I won't accept OCs sent in that way._**

 ** _2\. You can send in as many characters as you'd like, but I'll probably only pick one (*maybe* two) of them._**

 ** _3\. It's not first come, first served. I'll wait for as long as it takes until I feel like I have a well-rounded enough cast. I hope you won't be too upset if I don't accept your OC. It's not always that your OC wasn't good, but just that they're too much like another character or they don't suit the story._**

 ** _4\. I may have to change certain parts of your OC's history in order to fit into this story. I'll message you as much as I can about what I'll have to change about your OC without spoiling everything, haha._**

 ** _5\. You may send in characters that were used in other SYOCs. I don't mind :)_**

 ** _6\. This story is set very much in the future, so feel free to use advanced techology in your character's backstory/likes/talents/etc._**

 ** _7\. One person may or may not be chosen as a mastermind, depending on how I plot this. I won't give you an option, unfortunately._**

 ** _That's pretty much it. Have fun and be creative! I'm really hoping for a colourful cast, haha ^_^_**

 ** _Here's the form. This will also be posted on my profile._**

* * *

 _ *****If it has an asterisk, it's not needed, but I recommend you fill it out if you can*****_

 **Name:**

 **Talent:** (I don't mind reusing talents from past games, but be creative!)

 **Gender:** (Male, female, or if non-binary, specify.)

 **Age:** (15-18.)

 **Sexuality:** (They can be anything you'd like!)

 **Height:**

 **Weight:** (Make sure it makes sense in regard to their height/health/etc.)

 **Likes:** (List three)

 **Dislikes:** (See above)

 **Nationality + Race:** (I'll probably choose only one or two foreign students, so it's more likely your OC will be accepted if they're from Japan.)

 **Voice:** ***

 **Physical Appearance:** (Make it as detailed as possible! Not just hair and eye colour - explain face structure, little freckles or moles or birthmarks, body type, etc.)

 **Daily Clothing:** (Same as above. Make it detailed!)

 **Body Comfort:** *** (How do they feel about their body? Do they have a lot of insecurities? Are they very confident? How do feel about showing skin and other people seeing them?)

 **Negative Qualities:** (Should have an even amount of positive and negative qualities.)

 **Positive Qualities:** (Same as above.)

 **Attitude Toward People:** *** (How do they act around people? How do they feel about people and society?)

 **Attitude Toward Murderers:** *** (Same as above.)

 **Attitude Toward Life:** *** (How do they feel about living? How do they feel about death?)

 **Family:** *** (If applicable, list important family members and their relationship with them.)

 **Friends:** *** (Same as above.)

 **Wealth:** ***

 **Lifestyle:** *** (What kind of environment do they live in? How do they live and spend their money?)

 **Values:** (What do they value most?)

 **Past:** (Should be one of the most detailed sections. Please go in depth about their past and how its affected their personality and led up to their title.)

 **Personality:** (Should be just as detailed as "Past". Give me an overview of who they are as a person, including what they show around others and what they don't. Make sure they aren't too Mary-Sue-ish or relying too much on cliches/tropes. Be creative!)

 **Secrets:** ***(Any major secrets they're hiding? What would make them share it with someone or the rest of their classmates?)

 **Relationships:** (Would you like your character to have a relationship with another character? If so, what kind of person are they attracted to?)

 **Corpse Reaction:**

 **Execution Reaction:**

 **Investigation Role:** (What would they be doing during investigation? Would they hang out with someone or investigate on their own?)

 **Trial Role:** (What would they contribute to trials? How would they act?)

 **Victim Justification:** (How would you justify your character being a victim? What would make your character weak or possibly easy to take advantage of?)

 **Culprit Justification:** (What would drive your character to kill? How would they most likely kill? Everyone has something that'd make them snap.)

 **Survivor Justification:** (What qualities do you think your OC has that would lead to them surviving the game?)

 **Other:** ***(Anything I missed?)

* * *

 ** _That's it! Let me know if you have any questions :)_**

 ** _Hope you have a wonderful day!_**

 ** _-hurgleplargh_**


	2. Official Cast of DanganronpaV4-2

_**.::The Cast of DanganronpaV4.2::.**_

 **MALES:**

 **1\. Ryuu Maekawa: Ultimate Male Courtesan (hurgleplargh)**

 **2.** **Tsuneo Yokoyama: Ultimate Florist (Giangleo)**

 **3.** **Minnie Van Dryver/Masashi Kou: Ultimate Drag Queen (mandipokemon)**

 **4.** **Ashurri Popurra: Ultimate Lab Assistant (Abitat Eco)**

 **5.** **Kara Watanari: Ultimate Oneirologist (RioA)**

 **6.** **Akira: Ultimate Serial Killer (TheUnkindledHunter)**

 **7.** **Taeki Maguro: Ultimate Strategist (Jeptwin)**

 **8.** **Tsutomu Kiyomizu: Ultimate Toxicologist (zephryr)**

 **FEMALES:**

 **1\. Okinawa Otonari: Ultimate Sailor (Friend's)**

 **2.** **Chinami Hojo: Ultimate Janitor (irwegwert)**

 **3.** **Ameko Amane: Ultimate Voice Actor (Schlaf)**

 **4.** **Yume Igarashi: Ultimate ? (Agrael)**

 **5.** **Kiyomi Takata: Ultimate Stand-up Impressionist (Writer's Block Abundance)**

 **6.** **Naho Sakata: Ultimate Actor (TheRoseShadow21)**

 **7.** **Etsuko Yokoyama: Ultimate Figure Skater (Giangleo)**

 **8.** **Furanshishu Asuka: Ultimate Archaeologist (Abitat Eco)**

* * *

 _ **To everyone who got their characters submitted, I will be messaging you soon. Thanks again, everyone!**_

 _ **With love,**_

 _ **-hurgleplargh**_


	3. Chapter 1: A Fountain of Blood (Intros)

_**Happy New Year, everyone! I'm happy to have finally completed the introductions chapter because holy shit did it take me awhile. I thought about splitting this into two parts, but I just couldn't find a smooth enough cut in the middle, so I just left it as a 15k chapter. You can go through it at your own pace instead.**_

 ** _I'm seriously so in love with this cast so far, so to everyone whose character(s) got accepted, thank you so much! We're only at the intros, and I'm already having such a blast with all the different personalities. That being said, if you notice anything about your character that seems OOC, feel free to send me a PM about it. I tried my hardest to follow your forms, but obviously, only the owners know their characters best._**

 _ **Speaking of cast, there has been one change. My friend, who had a slot reserved, changed her character. The official cast list has been updated accordingly, so you can check back on that to see the change!**_

 ** _Only warnings for this chapter is some strong language and sexual discussion (that is what happens when an Ultimate Courtesan is your protagonist, people). Later on, maybe when the first murder happens, I'll change the rating to M._**

 ** _But for now, relax, sit back, and enjoy :)_**

* * *

 _"Know what Danganronpa is?"_

The second I heard the husky voice, the hologram vanished, leaving me with a cold, black and white tablet. I glanced up. There sat a boy in the bed right beside mine. He dangled his legs off the edge of the pod, playing with a very similar tablet to the one in my hands.

"You don't?" I asked, shifting to match his position.

"No, I do." He said. "Unfortunately."

I took a moment to take him in. He certainly wasn't anyone I'd met from Hope's Peak Academy; I had attended classes there for three months, and I'd never seen anyone with hair like his. He had spiky, dark red hair that, though sporadic and messy, seemed to be styled purposefully. His light olive skin was smooth with a nice glow, like maybe he went out of his way to take care of his skin. He certainly seemed like a man who took extra care of himself. His eyebrows were thin and groomed, and he dressed himself with a red-collared dress shirt with a sleek, black suit vest. He matched it with a pair of black dress pants, a leather belt, and black dress shoes. I noticed a white handkerchief stuck a bit out of his pocket.

I glanced back up into his eyes and noticed the gorgeous lavender colour. In a game like this, I couldn't help but cautiously look for any sort of malice or devious intent. But there wasn't any, as far as I could tell. This guy seemed genuinely gentle and kind. Hopefully, if this really was Danganronpa, I could place my trust in _someone_ here.

I opened my mouth to ask a question, but he cut me off.

" _'Where are we?', 'How long have I been asleep?', 'What do they mean, Danganronpa?', 'Does this mean we'll have to kill each other?'_ Yes. Those are all valid questions, but I can't provide you an answer, so there's no point in asking me." He said. Bit of a smartass. "What we should be focusing on is how we're getting out of here."

"O-Oh, yeah." Truth was, I wasn't going to ask any of those questions. I simply wanted to know what his name was.

Then, it was almost as if he read my mind. _"Oh!"_ He laughed a bit. "I don't think I've introduced myself. My name is Kara Watanari. I'm the Ultimate Oneirologist."

 _ **...: Kara Watanari / Ultimate Oneirologist :...**_

 _So there_ are _other Ultimates here._

Smiling, I jumped off the bed and walked over. I put out my hand to shake his.

"Gonna be honest, Kara, I have no idea what that is." I said.

Kara laughed. "Study of dreams."

"Ah, gotcha. I'm Ryuu Maekawa. Nice to meet you." I said. He took my hand, gave it a firm shake. Then he pulled away and focused back on the tablet in his hands. When he tapped it open, a green hologram appeared over the device, giving him a handful of options. **Dialog** , **Friends** , **Truth Bullets** , **ChatPal** , **Pet** , **Settings**. None of those made any sense to me, but Kara tapped the icons with complete confidence. I felt kind of awkward just standing above him, so I took a seat on his bed beside him and tried to make conversation. "So, uhm, you're a student at Hope's Peak? I don't think I remember-"

 _"Male Courtesan."_ He said. "So you _do_ have a talent."

 _"W-What?_ How did you-"

"Why do you dislike hippopotamuses in particular?"

"How did you know that?!"

Kara smiled at me a bit, then tapped at my tablet. "Play with your Monophone, Ryuu. It's kind of fun."

 _My Monophone...?_

Obviously, he meant the tablets we all seemed to possess. It seemed to be the only item I had. All my school books, my backpack, my Bluetooth - all of it was nowhere to be seen. The only thing I still had from that day - assuming I was kidnapped a couple days ago like my body feels like - was my clothes. I still had the white dress shirt I decided to wear, along with my favourite pink tie with cheesy red hearts, undone and dangling around my neck. I still wore my black jeans, with the suspenders dangling casually at the sides of my legs. And I still wore my pink dress shoes - which, in hindsight, was probably a bad idea if I had no other clothing options here. If I knew I was gonna be kidnapped and shoved into an old Killing Game franchise, forced to wear the same outfit for the rest of my time here, _Goddamnit,_ I would've wore my favourite light-up sneakers. I _definitely_ would've been a fan-favourite if I had those.

With a sigh, I copied Kara, pulling out my "Monophone" and tapping the hologram on. At the top, it had my name, " _ **Ryuu Maekawa**_ ", and beneath it had all the same options Kara's Monophone had. I tapped on **Dialog** , and a lengthy set of rectangles with our names appeared on the screen.

 _ **Kara Watanari** \- "Male Courtesan."_

 _ **Kara Watanari** \- "So you _do _have a talent."_

 _ **Ryuu Maekawa** \- _"W-What? _How did you-"_

 _ **Kara Watanari** \- "Why do you dislike hippopotamuses in particular?"_

"Woah, that's weird." I said. "Whoever's writing this even wrote in my stuttering."

 _ **Ryuu Maekawa** \- "Woah, that's weird."_

 _ **Ryuu Maekawa** \- "Whoever's writing this even wrote in my stuttering."_

"..." Quickly, I shut down the Dialog app. Needless to say, that was freaking me the fuck out. "...That's _really_ fucking weird."

"Yeah, can't say I completely understand that function." Kara said. "But now we know someone's listening to us all the time."

"That's not comforting." I said, then finally tapped on the **Friends** icon. A pink page of silhouettes appeared, most with question marks floating above them. However, there was one without a question mark and an entirely filled out form. Beside it was a pleasant head shot.

 **...: KARA WATANARI :...**

 **...: ULTIMATE ONEIROLOGIST :...**

 **HEIGHT: 5'4**

 **WEIGHT: 130 lbs**

 **LIKES: Sleeping, novels, sweets**

 **DISLIKES: Scary movies, spicy food, people disregarding dreams**

"Oh, wow!" I said. "That's kind of cool!"

"Kind of. Look, you have one on my phone." Kara said, tilting his hologram in my direction. He was right. On his screen, there was a filled out form just like Kara's and a photo of me I didn't remember taking. I eyed my tousled, dark brown hair, tied up in a low ponytail just like I had it done now. My light blue eyes still had my spark behind it, so I couldn't have taken this photo unwillingly, and my skin still had the recent tan I got from the work I had to do in the Hawaii, so it had to be recent. But I couldn't for the life of me remember this moment. _Who was I posing for? Who was I smiling for?_

I ran through the form I didn't remember filling out.

 **...: RYUU MAEKAWA :...**

 **...: ULTIMATE MALE COURTESAN :...**

 **HEIGHT: 5'10**

 **WEIGHT: 139 lbs**

 **LIKES: Cute things, laughter, own body**

 **DISLIKES: Loneliness, seafood, hippopotamuses**

"Geez, I don't remember filling this out, but it's all accurate." I said.

"Then I'd love to hear about your honest dislike for hippopotamuses." Kara said.

I laughed. "Who honestly _likes_ them? They're just my least favourite animal. No particular reason." Kara hummed, tapping through a bunch of people's information that I didn't have. I noticed each person had a square at the top corner of their head shot and pointed it out. "What're those?"

"Oh, those are _Friendship Cubes_ apparently. When you feel like you've bonded enough with someone, you can tap here and send them a Friendship Cube. I guess it's just a way to let them know you enjoyed their time, or you feel like you're a little closer with them." Kara explained.

"Well, it looks like you've got some bonding to do." I said. Guy had zero of these handy _"Friendship Cubes"._

"Well, we all just woke up and met each other only about four hours ago."

"Wait, did everyone meet each other except for me?"

"Yep. No one wanted to wake you. You should introduce yourself now that you're awake, Ryuu. Get some of their information and their Friendship Cubes." Kara said. He slipped off the bed and onto his feet, clicking his Monophone off and putting it back into his pocket. "If you'd like, I don't mind accompanying you and showing you around. I've already scouted the whole area and met all other 15 students of our class."

" _'Of our class'?_ But I've already met the students of my 2nd year class. I've been going to Hope's Peak for, like, three months." I said.

"We're all just as confused as you. Apparently, we're all 2nd-year students, but - like you were saying - we don't remember each other. We remember entirely different classmates." Kara said. "But it's a question without an answer, so let's not worry about that. Let's focus on what we can, what we know. Why don't we get you acquainted with everyone here?"

"Sure, yeah. I guess." I said. It started to settle in that I was alone. Alone in an entirely new environment, with entirely new people I knew nothing about. I didn't have my best friend to lean on. I didn't have my mother to call and relax to the sound of her pep-talks. I couldn't even confide with any school counselors. I was a fish from a small pond, thrown into a unexplored sea. Anything, _anyone_ could be here, and I'd have no guidance or support. And if this really was Danganronpa, another game set up to make us all kill one another for survival, then that really meant I was up against something I had no chance of beating. Reality was, it was more than likely I would die here.

Kara seemed to notice my shaking hands before I did. They weren't brought to my attention until he gently took my hands in his and slowly pulled me off his bed. It was a silent gesture, but it clearly said the words I needed to hear. _You'll be okay._

I shook off my anxiety and smiled at him. "Okay! Who should we start with?" I glanced around the bedroom, noticing two other boys still in their beds. One was tall with brown hair, the other average with grey hair. Their beds faced a doorway with a glowing male-restroom sign; must've been some showers and toilets and such. However, despite being right next to one another, the two of them seemed lost in their own worlds, paying the other no mind at all.

"Let's start with Taeki." Kara said. I nodded, but having no idea which one that was, Kara guided me to the other end of the room. We approached the tall guy with brown, clean-cut hair. He toyed with his Monophone, completely invested in the hologram. He didn't move an inch when we walked up next to his bed, and he certainly didn't move when I tapped him on the shoulder. I looked to Kara for an answer, but he just shrugged.

"Hi there. Sorry I didn't introduce myself earlier. Guess I'm kind of a heavy sleeper, haha!" I said. "My name's Ryuu Maekawa, and I'm the Ultimate Male Courtesan."

And to that, this "Taeki" guy said nothing.

Kara and I waited patiently for a minute or so, but the guy didn't react at all. He just kept tapping away at the hologram like I wasn't even there.

I decided to try again. "Sorry, I don't know if you heard me. My name's Ryuu-"

"U-Uh, yeah. I-I heard you." Taeki said. He didn't make any sort of eye contact. In fact, he just shrunk further back into his pillows during our very brief exchange of words. I really didn't want to make him uncomfortable, but I needed to get some sort of introduction out of him. So I tapped at him a bit more.

"Great! So then you know my talent. Would you mind telling me yours?" I said.

Finally, he looked up at me, if only for a couple of seconds. I finally saw his chocolate brown eyes, his thin brows, and his soft, oval face. Then it was gone again, back to his hologram. "I'm Taeki Maguro. I'm the Ultimate Strategist."

 _ **...: Taeki Maguro / Ultimate Strategist :...**_

Strategist. Well, he did give off an intelligent vibe. Looking a bit closer, I noticed Taeki wasn't Asian at all, which was surprising for Hope's Peak students; as far as I knew, they only accepted close locals when they rebuilt, considering they didn't have the funds yet to hand out scholarships to foreign students. He was a handsome Caucasian boy, with short, clean-cut brown hair and matching brown eyes. He seemed to be pretty fit too, as far as I could tell with his layers. He wore a grey camouflage shirt, covered with a dark blue jean jacket with wool padding. He seemed to be wearing black sweatpants, though it was kind of hard to tell with the blanket covering his lap.

"You look comfy," I said. "You're wearing a _way_ better outfit than mine. Hell, if I knew I was gonna be kidnapped, I would've wore my pajamas! These jeans are killing me. You've must've predicted this with your strategist super powers, huh?" _Pajamas and light-up sneakers. Oh yeah, I definitely would've been the coolest-looking guy of the season._

Taeki didn't say anything, of course. I think I already used up his maximum word-count of the day. Knowing I wasn't going to get anymore out of him, I pulled out my Monophone and clicked **Friends**. Now, Taeki's silhouette no longer had a giant question mark over it. Instead, a close-up photo and a bunch of information popped up.

 **...: TAEKI MAGURO :...**

 **...: ULTIMATE STRATEGIST :...**

 **HEIGHT: 6'**

 **WEIGHT: 148 lbs**

 **LIKES: Cooking, puzzles, anime/manga**

 **DISLIKES: People who test his patience, people who are unintelligent, people jumping to conclusions**

 _Huh. That's a lot of "people" he dislikes..._

Curious, I leaned over his shoulder and glanced at his hologram. I thought he might've been scrolling through the **Dialog** or **Settings** app, but instead, he was playing with a little 8-bit, green and pink bird. He tapped the various options: _giving it snacks, giving it love, giving it water, giving it toys..._ So he was ignoring me to take care of a virtual pet.

 _Well, can't say I blame him. The bird_ is _cute._

"You're not actually playing that, are you?" Kara suddenly said. I looked up at him, confused as his eyes shifted between Taeki and the other mystery boy in the room. He didn't explain until I asked him. "Haven't you noticed? Taeki's not actually playing with that bird. The bird is clearly starving, but he keeps giving it water."

I noticed Taeki's eyebrow raise. Kara was right on the mark.

"Look. He's not watching his hologram. He's watching Akira." Kara said, Akira clearly being the grey-haired kid on the bed across from Taeki's. "So you're cautious of him too, huh?"

"C-Can't blame me." Taeki mumbled. His voice was a little lighter this time.

"No, I can't." Kara said, and I finally clapped my hands to get their attention.

"You guys! I'm not following!" I huffed. "Who's Akira and why are we cautious of him?"

"Quiet down." Taeki said, his eyes back down to his chibi bird.

Kara just gestured towards him. "Why don't you go see for yourself?"

"Alright," With Kara following behind me, I marched over to Akira with confidence. He had a funny, charming look to him. He sat with his knees pulled up to his chest, eating scoops upon scoops of ice cream straight from the container. He had this childish smile on his face and a twinkle in his bright red eyes. His grey hair was simply cut, hanging just out of his face. He wore a wrinkled, long-sleeved white shirt, unmatched with a red tie that had prints of golden skulls. Like Taeki, he also had the clever idea of wearing black sweatpants and comfy black sneakers. There wasn't much about his physical appearance that screamed _"CAUTION"_. He actually seemed kind of cute to me.

I walked up to the end of his bed, placed my hands on the edge, and leaned forward with a smile. I could feel Kara's nervous stance just behind my shoulder. "Hey! I'm Ryuu Maekawa. I don't think we've met. I'm the Ultimate Male Courtesan."

Akira took a long time replying. He stared up at me for a couple minutes with his big, red eyes, just nibbling away at his large container of chocolate ice cream.

 _Seriously, what's with everyone giving me the silent treatment today?_

Then he finally spoke, in a very cheery tone. "You look _incredibly_ tasty."

"Oh, thank you!" I said, flipping my curly hair. "I do work hard on maintaining my appearance."

"Mmhm. You sure would look _delicious_ with a look of pure terror on your face. I'd love to see your despair as your love ones are brutally murdered right in front of your eyes."

"Awh, thank you!"

"You'd watch helplessly as I tear out the lungs of your family and friends. Their screams of horror and utter pain would echo through the room, deafening you and making you curl up on the floor. You'd just plead, and plead, and plead, and plead, and-"

"Really? Thank you very much!"

"And then I'd finally walk up to you, grab you by your blood-stained hair, and slice open your neck like a I'm slicing up my sandwich for lunch! _Ah!_ Then your arteries would _burst_ open, creating a _marvelous_ showcase of blood! Your insides would spew out of your neck like a fountain, showering the corpses of those you held dear to your heart! And I would clap and cheer at the sight!"

"Wow! That's so sweet! Thank you, really. You flatter me."

Kara suddenly but into our conversation. "W-What is wrong with you, Ryuu? Clearly, he's _not_ complimenting you!"

"You don't think so?" I said, tilting my head. "I mean, he's clearly joking. And hey, even if he wasn't joking, that was such a detailed murder-fantasy, I obviously must be a very special victim to him. I think it's more on the compliment-y side than the insult-y, don't you?"

"You've got to be kidding me." Kara said. Clearly, this guy had no sense of humour.

Akira piped up again. "Actually, I'm _veeerrrryyyyy_ serious. You haven't heard of me, huh? I'm Akira! And I'm the Ultimate Serial Killer! _Tah-duh!"_

I laughed and pulled out my Monophone. "Good one, Akira! So what's your actual talent?" I tapped open his now unlocked silhouette and scanned through his information.

 **...: AKIRA :...**

 **...: ULTIMATE SERIAL KILLER :...**

 **HEIGHT: 5'7**

 **WEIGHT: 130 lbs**

 **LIKES: Fun, murder, sweets**

 **DISLIKES: Boredom, bitter foods, lack of sweets**

"Oh." I said. "You're actually a serial killer."

 ** _...: Akira / Ultimate Serial Killer :..._**

"So, uh, you actually want to murder me and make me into a blood-fountain, huh?" I said, slowly. Mom never trained me on how to talk to psychopathic serial killers.

Akira nodded really fast, then shoved a large scoop of ice cream in his mouth. "I sure do, buddy! But don't you worry; I can't kill anyone. Hope's Peak made sure of it. They hypnotized me when I arrived there. Put me in a dark room and made me look at a golden clock spinning around my head and stuff. They chanted a whole bunch of mumbo-jumbo, and _voila!_ Now I can't kill anyone, no matter how much I want to. They said it was for the _'safety of their students'_ or some shit. I dunno."

"...Does brainwashing still work on a victim if they _know_ they've been brainwashed?" Kara asked.

"Oh, yeah. Doesn't change a thing. I can beat people up, but the second I'm about to send the finishing blow, my body goes rigid, and my mind just screams at me to stop. It's really weird. All I can hope is that I manage to kill someone accidentally. In the meantime, I'm keeping myself busy with ice cream."

"Awh, that's great, my little psycho friend!" I said, grinning from ear to ear. Then I quickly whipped around to Kara, wide-eyed, and mouthed, _"Let's go."_ And we hurried out of the bedroom.

Once we safely escaped the sights of our new murderous classmate, Kara and I found ourselves at the end of a long, pristine white hallway. The white, metal floor was illuminated with strips of green lights, just beneath several doors. Eight doors exactly, including a large, heavily gated elevator in the middle. There was a control panel beside it, the only option being " _down_ ". Above the panel, there were green lights writing out **B2**. At the other end of the hall, there was a large flat-screen TV. Just like everything else, it was bordered with green neon lights. Unlike the boy's room, there were no windows at all. Just the seven doors and an elevator.

I sighed and leaned back against the wall. " _Geez,_ an Ultimate Serial Killer? What were the scouts thinking?"

"If it makes you feel any better, you had the least gory murder description out of the rest of us." Kara said with a forced laugh. "I think he might like you the most."

"Great! So I'll get to watch you all die before he kills me last. Sounds good."

The two of us couldn't help but laugh out loud. It was such a ridiculous situation. Randomly, we're shoved into some sort of enclosed home, told we're in a cancelled Danganronpa game with no other information, and forced to befriend a whole bunch of ridiculous strangers with ridiculous talents. One of which being an actual, psychopathic serial killer.

But my laughter was good sign, I thought. And the fact that I felt comfortable laughing with Kara was an even better one. Maybe I had only met him thirty minutes ago, but Kara seemed reliable, and I knew, despite my laughter now, I would desperately need someone to lean on later. I knew this laughter would turn into loneliness - and soon into fear. This wasn't a safe environment. I was alone. I knew those thoughts would hit me soon.

But for now, I relaxed, resting my arm on Kara's shoulder. That was easy with his short height. "Alright, Friendship Guide, take me to the next insane classmate of mine."

"Sure. I'm not entirely sure where everyone is, but we might as well check every room so you have an understanding of this floor." Kara said. He guided me straight to the door across from the boys' bedroom, and I followed him without any hesitation.

Through the white door, we stepped right into an extravagant kitchen. The room was more than big enough for multiple chefs to run around and make literally anything they desired. The kitchen walls were covered with many sparkling, stainless steel appliances, most of which I had no idea how to use or what it was for. Right in the middle, dividing the kitchen, there was a large steel counter. Above it hung all different kinds of utensils and tools. Knives that could heat up to any temperature dangled above, along with various spoons, whisks, measuring cups - anything you needed was available to you. Walking through the kitchen with Kara, I noticed a bread machine - pop any ingredients you'd like and it'd pop out loaves of fresh bread in seconds; Advanced freezers - detects which items need to be frozen at their ideal temperatures, organizing them into various compartments accordingly; and an ice cream maker - much like the bread maker, you can put in any ingredients, and it'll whip it up into smooth ice cream. It was absolute heaven.

Walking around to the other side of the counter, Kara and I noticed a long-haired girl crouching in front of a short freezer. She clearly hadn't noticed us yet, so Kara and I walked up to her slowly, trying not to scare her.

But despite our efforts, the girl jerked a bit when she saw my feet within her vision. She popped up from her position and fixed her hair a bit. "Sorry, sorry! I'm surprised I didn't notice you two come in. My apologies."

"Oh, don't worry about it," I said. I couldn't help but smile at the sight of her. "I just haven't met everyone yet. I'd like to introduce myself. I'm Ryuu Maekawa, Ultimate Male Courtesan."

The girl nodded, and I shook her gloved hand. "Quite nice to meet you, Ryuu. I'm Furanshishu Asuka. I'm the Ultimate Archaeologist."

 ** _...: Furanshishu Asuka / Ultimate Archaeologist :..._**

"Ultimate Archaeologist? That's amazing. You must've discovered some crazy stuff." I said.

Her light blue eyes lit up at that. "Oh, you think so? I really do love what I do. I've traveled all over the world for my expeditions, and I've met so many wonderful people. If you ever have the time, I'd love to tell you about it."

"And I'd love to hear about it." I said, genuinely. She seemed like a girl with huge storage-containers filled with stories, all just sitting at the back of her mind. She just seemed so confident and lively. She had a heart-shaped face and lightly tanned skin, probably from all her traveling and excavating. Her light, auburn hair was long with thick curls, tucked out of her face behind her ears. She wore dark blue, rectangular glasses that only made her light blue eyes pop out even more. I noticed she was fairly toned, clearly very healthy and, dare I say, _absolutely gorgeous._

Furanshishu wore a white, sleeveless blouse, tied up at her front, just above her khaki shorts. She had a navy bandana wrapped around her neck, and on her hands, she wore a pair of firm-grip, dark grey gloves. Just covering the ends, on one wrist, Furanshishu wore a high-tech watch - a design I'd never seen before - and on her other wrist, she wore a cute bracelet with charms of typical Egyptian symbols. I noticed a pyramid, an Egyptian cat, a cat-eye symbol, a pharaoh's mask, and probably more I couldn't see. She also sported an expensive brown backpack, clearly made for adventures and expeditions. It was probably designed to fit lots of tools helpful for her work. On her feet, she wore a pair of multi-coloured ankle socks, along with a pair of heavy-duty grey hiking boots.

"But, uh, _'Courtesan'_ , huh?" Furanshishu's higher-pitched voice jerked me out of my thoughts. "That's a peculiar career for someone your age."

"Yeah, I know. But it's honestly not as sleazy as it sounds." I said.

"Have people been bothering you about it?"

"Oh, no. Actually, so far, no one I've met gives a shit."

Furanshishu laughed, placing her hands on her hips. "Is that so?"

"Yeah. Kara here just gave me a weird look, Taeki didn't talk to me whatsoever, and Akira's a serial killer, so I obviously had more questions about him than he had for me." I said, successfully making Furanshishu laugh more. Once our laughter died down, Furanshishu turned away and went back to whatever-the-heck she was doing. She crouched down and stared into the open freezer.

"So, uh, what're you doing?" I asked.

"I'm waiting for the ice cream to restock." She said, not looking up at me. "When we first got here, there was only _one_ container of chocolate ice cream, which Akira took and ate in the dinning room. I watched him eat all of it in twenty minutes. He's a weird guy. Anyway, later on, I was in the kitchen with him when I saw him pull _another_ chocolate ice cream container out of this very freezer. So someone had to restock it. I'm waiting to find out exactly _when_ and _how_ the food restocks here."

"Seems like a trivial thing to focus on though. We should be searching for a way out instead." Kara said. Furanshishu shrugged.

"How long have you been waiting here?" I asked.

Furanshishu glanced at her watch. A blue hologram displayed above it, showing her a compass, the time, and the current weather.

"Four hours, nine minutes." She said.

 _Shit._

So I nodded, then crouched down next to her. Together, we stared into a freezer filled with nothing but ice cream containers of various flavours - all but chocolate, the mystery we were anxiously waiting to be solved.

"Oh, Ryuu, you're _not_ serious." Kara grumbled behind me, but I didn't move an inch. _It was a very mysterious mystery! I needed to know!_ " _Ryuu._ Come on. Don't make me stand here for hours waiting for chocolate ice cream."

I didn't answer him. This was more important than anything else in that moment.

"Oh, for heaven's sake!" Suddenly, Kara grabbed my collar and dragged me away from Furanshishu and the fridge. I protested as he dragged me across the floor, but he didn't care to listen. He just rolled his eyes and took me all the way out to the halls. Furanshishu politely waved goodbye, but I didn't have the chance to wave back. Dude was stronger than he looked, that's for sure.

Once we were back out into the halls, I jumped back onto my feet and glared down at Kara. "Hey, man! Don't cockblock me!"

" _'Cockblock'?_ Is that what that was about? So you were just interested in Furanshishu and not the ice cream?" Kara asked, glaring back at me.

"Well, okay. No. The ice cream mystery was actually really peculiar. Like, that sounds seriously freaky. How do you think it works?" I asked, but Kara wasn't having it. He only replied with another eye roll. "But that girl was seriously pretty too. I would've gladly spent five hours with her staring at a freezer."

Curious about her, I pulled out my Monophone and tapped on her information. I saw Kara pouting and glaring at the floor now. "She's okay, I suppose." He said.

I ignored Mr. GrumpyPants and read through Furanshishu's form.

 **...: FURANSHISHU ASUKA :...**

 **...: ULTIMATE ARCHAEOLOGIST :...**

 **HEIGHT: 5'6**

 **WEIGHT: 112 lbs**

 **LIKES: Strawberries, delicate pottery, carbon-dating**

 **DISLIKES: Pasta, hot chocolate, designer clothing**

I tilted my head. "What the hell is carbon-dating?"

Kara opened his mouth to reply, but the second he did, a girlish squeal echoed down the halls. We turned around, noticing the door at the very other end of the hallway was left open. I couldn't help but smile. There was something about making new friends and first introductions that got me childishly excited.

I slipped my Monophone back into my pocket, grabbed Kara's hand, and strode down the hallway and into the open room.

Unlike the spacious bedroom and kitchen, this room was particularly small and dim. Honestly, it was sort of nice; with all the bright lights and white walls, this place was pretty harsh on the eyes. Here, the walls were dark grey metal, along with dark wooden flooring. There were two sphere-shaped machines - a very expensive _Quickie Laundry_ washer and dryer. I only saw these kinds of machines owned by my most affluent clients. They could wash and dry your machines within seconds, and it'd organize the clothing individually and wash them accordingly, so there was no need to organize loads beforehand. Beside the Quickie Laundry machines, there was a large dusty container, constantly letting out a quiet hum. An unsteady, wooden ladder leaned on the side of it. I think it was a water tank, but it looked like some sort of device from maybe a century ago.

In front of the washers stood a young boy and a girl. The boy seemed to be fumbling with a laundry basket and a small pile of feminine clothes. The girl, who I noticed was dressed in pale blue onesie pajamas and a white sailor hat, clapped her hands and cheered for the boy. It didn't take long for them to notice me and Kara when I approached them.

"Hi there! I don't think we've met yet." I said, placing my hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Nope! I don't remember your face at all!" The girl said, beaming up at me.

The boy paused for a while, staring into his laundry basket for a moment before he replied. "U-Um, yeah. I don't think so either."

I peered into the basket the boy was holding. Inside, I saw a what looked like a girl's sailor Halloween costume. There was a white blouse with a thick blue collar and a loose white ribbon. Beside it was a matching blue skirt, high-waisted with four white buttons and frills stitched on the inside, and a pair of ankle-high socks. I glanced up at the boy. _Surely, they aren't his._ He paid me no mind, as his eyes shifted between the laundry basket and the advanced washing machine in front of him. There were hundreds of different settings you could put it on, so it was easy to get overwhelmed by all the buttons. I knew from working with a client who had a thing for gothic-styled maids.

The kid clearly had no idea what he was doing, so I leaned forward, opened up the machine, and tossed all of the basket's contents in. Then I simply pressed the _"Go"_ button, and the insides begun to turn. The loud rumble of the machine echoed through the laundry room and down the hall.

"U-Uh, I-I..." The boy stuttered.

"There's a bunch of shit you can make this do, but if you just need to run a simple load, all you have to do is throw it in and start it up." I said. He was so short and shy, it took all my strength not to pat him on the head. "It'll be done in about thirty seconds."

The boy eyed me up and down, pausing for a moment. "...Are you... possibly... the Ultimate Maid?"

"If you want me to be." I said, tossing in a wink.

The boy's face went bright red. "W-What? What do you mean by that?"

 _"Haha!_ I'm just teasing ya. No, I'm the Ultimate Male Courtesan. And my name's Ryuu Maekawa, by the way."

Just as the washer stopped rumbling and sang it's simple, finishing tune, the young girl spoke up. "I have no idea what that _isssssssssss,_ but I'm Okinawa Otonari, and I'm the Ultimate Sailor!"

 _ **...: Okinawa Otonari / Ultimate Sailor :...**_

"A sailor, huh. So I'm guessing those are your clothes in there and not this guy's." I said, pointing to the short, unknown boy beside me. Okinawa grinned and nodded her head quickly. She was a pretty cute, youthful girl; I assumed she hadn't gone through puberty yet. She had pretty pale skin, emerald green eyes, and a round face with cheeks I really, really wanted to squish. Her hair was the craziest thing about her - all pastel-y and layered. It was short, just barely reaching her shoulders, and her layered bangs were pulled out of her face with a dark purple bunny clip. Her hair was mostly dyed a pastel green, but it had strips of pastel blue, purple, and pink all in random spots. Though she wore her pajamas - I assume because her clothes were in the washer - she still had her white sailor hat on. Looking closer, it had a matching blue brim to her uniform, and it had a cute anchor design right at the front.

Okinawa didn't say anything to that. Instead, she jumped up next to the boy and poked his shoulder. "Hey! Are you done yet?"

"Um, no, I still have to dry them." He said, pulling her sailor suit out of the washer. Despite her constant poking, the boy gave her a gentle smile and held up the white blouse for her to see. "But look, the tomato sauce came out completely."

"Yeah, but it's not done yet. You're so slow. You don't deserve to be called the Ultimate Assistant!" Okinawa pouted.

The boy sighed as he tossed Okinawa's suit into the dryer. "Y-You're mistaken, Oki. I told you, I'm not the _Ultimate Assistant_ ; I'm the Ultimate _Lab_ Assistant." This "Lab Assistant" turned on the dryer, and the loud rumble carried throughout the room again. As we waited for the dryer to finish, the boy turned to me and apologized. "I'm sorry, I think I forgot to introduce myself. My name's Ashurri Popurra, but, um, you can just call me Ash if it's easier for you."

 ** _...: Ashurri Popurra / Ultimate Lab Assistant :..._**

Ash was a lot like Okinawa - cute, youthful, sort of Lolita-like energy to him. Ash was pretty short and thin, with an angular face and almond-shaped eyes. He had pretty pale skin and a cute, small nose that was dotted with faint freckles. His chestnut-coloured hair was scraggly, cut just before his chin. He tucked some of his hair behind his ears, but he had a long fringe that still hung in front of his eyes. It wasn't until he tilted his head a bit that I got a good look at his eyes, and when I did, it took me all my strength not to gasp. His eyes were striking. Two different colours - one bright green, and the other bright red. _There's no way those are natural, right?_

Looking at his clothes, it was stupid of me not to guess he had something to do with science. He wore a long white lab coat with an infinity symbol embroidered on the front pocket and a light green shirt beneath it. He also wore a pair of knee-length, brown shorts; a grey belt; matching grey socks; and a pair of green sneakers. On his head, he wore a pair of plastic science goggles, and around his torso, he had a brown satchel with who-knows-what in there. The only thing I could see were some pens and empty test tubes sticking out and clipped onto the sides. On his left wrist, he wore a digital bracelet, which seemed to have a lot of options on it. I had no idea what it was used for.

"Sure, Ash. Nice to meet you." I said, and we politely shook hands.

As Ash began to take Okinawa's clothes out of the wash, I curiously pulled up their information on my Monophone.

 **...: OKINAWA OTONARI :...**

 **...: ULTIMATE SAILOR :...**

 **HEIGHT: 5'1**

 **WEIGHT: 120 lbs**

 **LIKES: Bunnies, cute things, calm seas**

 **DISLIKES: Violent seas, non-bunny animals, bullies**

 **./.**

 **...: ASHURRI POPURRA :...**

 **...: ULTIMATE LAB ASSISTANT :...**

 **HEIGHT: 4'8**

 **WEIGHT: 92 lbs**

 **LIKES: Raspberry ripple ice cream, orange juice, squirrels**

 **DISLIKES: Chocolate milk, avocados, being abandoned**

Reading through their information, I just couldn't help myself. I laughed, then bent down to their height. " _Oh my goodness,_ you two are just _way_ too cute! I had no idea Hope's Peak Academy accepted children now, not just teenagers!"

"Children...?" Ash said.

"Nah-uh, me no children!" Okinawa giggled. "I just turned seventeen!"

"Y-Yes, and I'm sixteen." Ash said.

I gasped. _No way._ I stepped towards Ash and placed my hands on my knees. _"Wooooooowwwwwww!_ That's amazing!" I exclaimed. "Never in my life have I ever met someone like you: _a 4'8, 16-year-old boy._ _Wow._ You're like a mythological creature! _So cute!"_

Ash stuttered out some unintelligible words, his face completely flushed red from ear to ear. Okinawa jumped up beside me, copying my position - hands on her knees, crouching down to Ash's adorable height. Daring, she reached forward and squished Ash's cheek a bit, and he was too flustered and speechless to push her away.

"Yeah! You are really rare! You're like a unicorn!" Okinawa said. _"Yay!_ I have a unicorn as a personal assistant! I'm so lucky!"

"I-I... Uh..." Completely tongue-tied, Ash failed to come up with any sort of response. All he could do was stand there, blushing at our cooing.

Suddenly, I felt the familiar tug of Kara grabbing my collar. "Okay, you've had your fun. Let's go before you can insult him anymore." Kara said. He took me by surprise, but I was ready for Kara's strength this time. I stumbled forward, cursing as we left the laundry room, but at least I managed to stay on my feet.

Kara slammed the laundry room door shut the second we set foot in the hall. He finally released my collar, forcing me to readjust my shirt for the second time because of his rough-handling.

Kara sighed. "Ryuu, you seem like a genuinely nice guy, but I feel like a babysitter right now." He said. "Let's try to make these introductions brief, okay? And maybe stop flirting with people. And maybe stop teasing them. And maybe you should actually do up your tie and try to look like a proper gentleman and- _Ryuu?_ _Ryuu, get back here!_ Stop running around without me! _My God..._ "

I could just hear his frantic footsteps behind me as I ran down to the other end of the hallway. I didn't stop for him whatsoever. I headed straight for the door next to the kitchen, both eager to meet the rest of my classmates and to bother Kara that extra bit. His little lecture only made me want to tease him even more.

I slipped open the door to find a large, spacious dinning room. There was one large blue table, surrounded by exactly sixteen pod-chairs that resembled our beds. The pods looked just as comfortable as the beds, with many features available on the arms. There were buttons that adjusted the angle of your chair, buttons that made miniature tables pop out in front of you, and some arrows that let you move anywhere around the room as you please. Above the table, there was an extremely large oval dip in the ceiling. I also recognized these from some of my more fortunate clients. If you adjusted the control panel beside the door, you could change the environment of the room to nearly anything you want. It would change not only the image on the ceiling, but it would also change the lights and temperature accordingly. You could eat under the romantic moonlight, in a humid rain forest, beside the tropical waves, in a winter wonderland; the options were practically endless.

What worried me though was the portrait hanging at the other end of the room. It was a large, framed photograph of Monokuma, the star mascot character of Danganronpa. His black and white features, along with that one, creepy red eye were so distinct. Anyone who wasn't living under a rock knew exactly who he was and what he was affiliated with. On the wall hung a pair of handcuffs on either side of the frame. He was comically wearing a cute police hat and proudly holding up a large taser and a gun. It would've been cute had he not reminded me where I was, what I'd be forced to do...

 _No, even if this is Danganronpa, we won't give in to the game._ I thought. _Most of us know exactly what's going on, so we'll be able to make smart decisions and resist all the motives. We'll be out of here in no time._

Kara finally caught up to me in the doorway. He reached up and placed his hand on my shoulder. "Ryuu, you have _got_ to stop running all over the place."

Purposefully ignoring him, I noticed two couples in the dinning room. At one end of the dinning table, there was boy and girl, clearly separating themselves from the other two. They looked closed off from the rest of their surroundings, just focused on each other and their conversation. At the other end of the table, there were two cute girls, laughing and giggling. One of the girls glanced at me for a moment, but quickly went back to talking to the other girl. They looked like they were definitely gossiping about something.

Wanting to pop their bubble, I walked up to the boy and girl first. They were so wrapped up in their quiet conversation that they didn't even notice me or Kara until I spoke up.

"Hi there! Man, you guys work fast. Everyone only met each other, like, five hours ago, and you're already going on a date? Crazy." I said, flashing them a cheesy smile. Both of them instantly went red. While the boy hunched forward, blushing to himself and playing with his button-up, the girl grabbed her steak knife and pointed it at my chin.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! Why would you say something like that?!" She said, each word only turning her face redder.

I wasn't really intimidated in the first place, but I was happy when the blushing boy began to laugh; the girl slowly lowered her knife to stare at him. His laugh was gentle, quiet, and his face began to flush from his happiness rather than embarrassment.

"Etsuko, calm down. It's okay." He said in a gentle, handsome voice. He then turned to me to explain. "I'm sorry for her. We're not on a date or anything; we're brother and sister, you see."

 _Whoops._ "Oh, cool! I've always wanted a sibling. It's pretty lucky that you both got accepted into the same class, huh?"

"It is. I'm very grateful." He said. _No shit._ Having someone you knew and could most definitely rely on in a place like this was a miracle. "We've already met Kara, but, um, your name is...?"

"Oh, It's Ryuu Maekawa. I'm the Ultimate Male Courtesan."

The boy tilted his head. "You're a... _courtesan?_ That... must be interesting."

Kara cleared his throat and butted into the conversation. "Tsuneo, why don't you introduce yourself to Ryuu?"

"O-Oh! R-Right! Sorry, t-that was a rude reaction!" "Tsuneo" said, but I shrugged. I didn't think it was rude at all. I mean, it's a pretty normal reaction considering I pretty much told him I'm a prostitute. "Anyway, I'm Tsuneo Yokoyama, and I'm the Ultimate Florist."

 _ **...: Tsuneo Yokoyama / Ultimate Florist :...**_

Tsuneo definitely fit the cliche image of your sweet, local florist down the road. Tsuneo was pretty short, similar to Kara, and his face and chocolate brown eyes were round and youthful. However, he seemed to have dark bags beneath his eyes, like the kid seriously needed a nap. His skin was tanned, and his longer, raven-coloured hair was parted in the middle. He styled it like mine, pulled back into a short, low ponytail at the back of his head, but his hair was probably an inch shorter or so.

He wore a long-sleeved button-up, rolled up just before his elbows, and black, straight paints that were rolled up just above his ankles. He sported a pair of carefree, brown sandals and a pair of silver, circular-framed glasses on the bridge of his nose. Around his torso was a lavender apron with embroidery flowers all across the fabric, and in his hair were some cute flower clips. Sweet guy.

I pulled up his information.

 **...: TSUNEO YOKOYAMA :...**

 **...: ULTIMATE FLORIST :...**

 **HEIGHT: 5'3**

 **WEIGHT: 127 lbs**

 **LIKES: Etsuko, flowers, dramas**

 **DISLIKES: Sweets, peanuts, glitter**

So the obvious reaction here was to reach into my pocket, grab the pile of glitter I kept, and toss it out on top of Tsuneo and his sister Etsuko. No pizzazz. No exclamation. Just pink and green glitter, all over their beautifully cooked steak dinner. Kara, Tsuneo, and Etsuko were completely silent.

And so was I, for a moment. Until I couldn't hold it in any longer and started laughing.

I snorted. _"Haha!_ Okay, c'mon. You have to admit that was a bit funny." I said, grinning. The other three had yet to laugh, let alone smile.

"...Why do you even _have_ that?" Kara asked.

"Do you know how hard it is to get glitter off your body and your clothes?" Tsuneo asked, his voice suddenly a bit lower than before.

"Dude, do you even know how perfectly cooked that steak was?" Etsuko grumbled. "That was the most beautiful medium-rare I have ever seen in my entire life, and now it's covered in freaking glitter."

"Yeah, that steak looked delicious - I'd still eat it; yes, sometimes I find glitter in my ears; and hey, you'd be surprised how much of my clientele get turned on by glitter, or take me to glitter-involved parties." I said, still laughing. It was kind of too perfect of an opportunity, okay?

"I-I have so many questions about your line of work..." Tsuneo mumbled, pulling little bits of glitter from his hair.

"Let's leave the questions for another time," Kara said. I noticed his cheeks were a bit flushed. "Etsuko, would you mind properly introducing yourself?"

"Yeah, I'd mind." Etsuko said, poking at her steak.

I noticed Tsuneo kicked Etsuko's leg lightly. _"Etsuko-"_

"I'm good, thanks. I'm done talking to this sleazy whack-job." Etsuko said. She took a moment, staring at her now-sparkling steak. Then finally, she shrugged, took her knife and fork, and dug took a large bite out of it.

"Correction, I'm a _classy_ whack-job." I said.

Etsuko glanced up at me, chewing unladylike with a dull expression. "You'd get along well with Minnie."

 _"Minnie...?"_ I said, then Kara gestured towards one of the gossiping girls at the other end of the room. This Minnie, covered in glittery make-up and a gorgeous off-shoulder dress, looked absolutely _glamorous._ I whistled. "Well, I sure _hope_ so."

"Gross." Etsuko said.

"C'mon, Etusko. Just be polite, and he'll leave us alone..." Tsuneo said. I think he didn't mean for me to hear that or something.

Etsuko rolled her eyes, then finally introduced herself. "Etsuko Yokoyama. I'm the Ultimate Figure Skater. Are we done now?"

 ** _...: Etsuko Yokoyama / Ultimate Figure Skater :..._**

That was certainly believable. Etsuko had a beautiful, muscular physique, and though her personality didn't really match, she seemed to have a pretty graceful body. Her skin was similar to Tsuneo's, maybe a bit paler. She had an oval-shaped face and round, pink lips. Her raven hair was pulled up in a clean, high bun, only leaving her choppy bangs hanging just above her hazel eyes. She wore a navy blue track suit over a baby blue figure skating costume. It had a high neck and a short skirt with two cute bows at the hips. Embroidered all over were various complicated snowflake designs, completed with glued-on rhinestones. Beneath, she wore a pair of black tights and matching black combat boots. Around her bun, she had a blue hair-tie with a cute flower connected to it.

I nodded, told her it was nice to meet her, and pulled up her information on my Monophone.

 **...: ETSUKO YOKOYAMA :...**

 **...: ULTIMATE FIGURE SKATER :...**

 **HEIGHT: 5'5**

 **WEIGHT: 119 lbs**

 **LIKES: Tsuneo, winter, iced lattes**

 **DISLIKES: Warm weather, hot drinks, liars**

"I see," I said, slipping my phone away. "So Tsuneo's the younger one right? By how many years?"

Etsuko snorted a bit, and Tsuneo let out an almost childish huff. "No, actually, I'm the oldest. I'm eighteen, Etsuko's sixteen."

 _"Wow!_ I never would've guessed, not with your _height_ and all." I said. "There's so many short guys here, you know. _Kara, Ash, you..._ It's hilarious. And adorable. You guys should start a club." I tapped my chin, laughing to myself as I thought up a name. "Oh, I know! _The Small Guys Club."_

Tsuneo and Kara were absolutely silent. Their faces were pink, but their eyes were dark, glaring daggers into my soul. Etsuko, on the contrary, slid out her hand and reached out towards me with a flat palm. I noticed the small smirk on her lips and returned her low-five.

A couple minutes of dark silence later, Tsuneo finally responded in that kind, gentle voice of his. "Ryuu, you smile like a kind person, but you're actually an asshole, huh?"

"Oh, most definitely." I said, smiling my "kind person smile". Having finshed our introductions, I grabbed Kara's hand and pulled him towards the other couple in the room. "Anyway, nice to meet you two! I'll leave you to your date now!"

I winked at the siblings, and both of them just sighed and returned to their glittery meal.

Kara and I approached the other two girls in the room. The both of them lounged in their chairs, leaning over their armrests and laughing with one another. I took a moment to groom my hair and straighten out my cuffed sleeves before I approached them.

I tucked my hands in my pockets and sauntered over. _"Hellllllooooooo, ladies,"_ I said.

The glamorous girl, who I distinctly remembered was Minnie, puckered her lips and waved back at me - just a feminine wiggle of her fingers. The other girl giggled to herself, leaning back and shifting her eyes between the two of us.

 _"Hi there,"_ Minnie said, her voice a lot deeper and sensual than I was expecting.

"Minnie, right? I've been hearing a lot about you." I said.

Kara tapped his chin. "No, I don't think you have. Etsuko only mentioned her once to you-"

I stepped on Kara's expensive-ass shoes and continued my conversation with Minnie. "Word on the street is you and I are a lot alike and that we'd get along. I thought I'd come over here to see if it was true."

"And? What do you think now that you see my beauty up close?"

I stepped up a bit closer and, slowly, placed my hand on her armrest. "Well, Minnie, I'm no photographer, but I have to say, I can _definitely_ picture us together." I said. Both Minnie and her friend both giggled at my cheesy pick-up line, which was more than enough to make me smile and continue on. "So other than being sexy, what do you do, Minnie?"

"I'm an entertainer."

"Should've guessed. You've been _very_ entertaining to me." I said, and the girls laughed. "Hm, I don't think our chemistry is any laughing matter, Minnie."

"No? You don't think you're forcing this a bit, darling?"

"You're leaning into me, aren't you?"

There was no denying that. Minnie and I were pretty close to one another, the both of us leaning on the same armrest. We gazed into each other's eyes. There was this playful, flirtatious electricity between us, both of us silently measuring each other up - for what, exactly, I didn't know. Minnie was a seriously gorgeous girl, and she certainly knew it. She had a beautiful fair complexion, making her green eyes pop. Her dark brown hair was long and thick, hanging down in glamorous, movie-star curls. She wore an off-shoulder, knee-length dress that showed off her figure, matched with a pair of long brown gloves and five-inch heels. Around her neck, she wore a beautiful, teardrop-shaped locket. Minnie was probably the only person here with such heavy make-up. Her eyes were shaded a deep brown, and her eyebrows were drawn in perfectly a little higher up on her head. When a smile pulled on her ruby red lips, a charming dimple was shown on her left cheek. She batted her long, false eyelashes at me, and I cocked my head.

Both of us were clearly waiting to see what the other would do next. Daring to break the silence, I playfully said, "So, my place or yours?"

Minnie leaned in an inch closer. "Let's take this to yours, honey."

That's when the other girl laughed out loud, a bit harder than before. "I'm pretty sure you both have the same 'place'." She said.

I pulled back. "Huh?"

"Have you figured it out yet?" Kara asked me, a small smile on his lips.

"No...? What are you two talking about?"

Minnie laughed, placing her gloved hand on mine. "Oh, sweety, you're so cute. Let me introduce myself. My name is Minnie Van Dryver, the epitome of female beauty! Not only that, I'm also the epitome of male beauty as well, when I go by Masashi Kou, at least. I'm the Ultimate Drag Queen."

 _ **...: Minnie Van Dryver - Masashi Kou / Ultimate Drag Queen :...**_

 _"...Oh."_ I said.

"I'm sorry for Ryuu's behaviour, Minnie. Thank you for humouring him." Kara said, slightly pulling me back towards him.

"No, no! I still stand by my words. Minnie, you're an absolutely beautiful woman. You're extremely talented." I said. "You're definitely going to have to share some tips with me. My cross-dressing isn't half as good as yours."

"Of course I'm beautiful. You don't need to tell me twice. But I wasn't aware you cross-dressed." She said.

"Oh, right! I never introduced myself to you ladies. I'm Ryuu Maekawa, and I'm the Ultimate Male Courtesan." I said. "You can probably guess how cross-dressing factors into my career."

Minnie and the other girl nodded, and I pulled out my Monophone briefly.

 **...: MINNIE VAN DRYVER - MASASHI KOU :...**

 **...: ULTIMATE DRAG QUEEN :...**

 **HEIGHT: 5'9**

 **WEIGHT: 147 lbs**

 **LIKES: Roses, snow, sea**

 **DISLIKES: Thorns, Christmas, fish**

I glanced through the hologram, noticing the other girl's eyes on me. She rested her chin in her hand, watching me with analyzing eyes. I closed the hologram and tilted my head at her. "Is there something on my face?" I genuinely asked her.

She blinked a bit. "Sorry?"

"You've been staring at me this whole time." I said. "Actually, I think I noticed you looking at me since I first walked into the dinning room."

The girl paused for a bit, then let on a small smile. "Hm. I hadn't noticed." She said. Despite my earlier flirting with the two of them, all of my focus was on Minnie, since she was so blatantly flirting back. This girl, on the other hand, hadn't really done much but watch me and laugh at our interactions. So it surprised me a bit when she suddenly flipped her hair and crossed her legs. She leaned forward, staring into my eyes with a sort of mischievous gaze. "My name's Naho Sakata, by the way. I'm the Ultimate Actor."

 ** _...: Naho Sakata / Ultimate Actor :..._**

So I usually have a pretty good hold of myself, but with the way this cute girl started twirling her hair and fixing her pastel jumper, I couldn't stop myself from blushing. She wasn't exactly glamorous or "unique" like Minnie - no, she had a fairly "average" look to her - but something about the way she was talking to me suddenly made my heart beat quickly. Naho had slightly tanned skin and a heart-shaped face. She had dark eyes and dark hair, grown long all the way to her waist with sweet straight bangs cut just before her eyes. In her hair, she wore a sparkly pink Alice band, matched with a sparkly pink bow at the top of her head.

Matching her pastel hair accessories, Naho wore pastel pink jumper with a comical unicorn stitched into it. Only the collar and the cuffs of her undershirt stuck out beneath it. She wore a pair of black skinny jeans, tucked under a bunched up pair of unicorn-printed, lavender socks. She had these adorable white trainers with solid pink soles and rainbow-coloured laces. On her wrists, she wore a bunch of solid-coloured bracelets - all pastel blues, greens, and yellows - and pierced through her ears were a pair of unicorn earrings. I noticed, as she ran her fingers through her hair, that her nails were painted all different colours of the rainbow.

"A-Actor, huh?" I said. Suddenly, my voice was a bit unsteady. I had noticed her before, _talked_ to her before, but now, for whatever weird reason, I was getting flustered. "So do you do theatre work or behind-the-camera work?" As Naho answered, I pulled up her now filled out form on my Monophone.

 **...: NAHO SAKATA :...**

 **...: ULTIMATE ACTOR :...**

 **HEIGHT: 5'5**

 **WEIGHT: 130 lbs**

 **LIKES: Unicorns, parsnips, fluffy slippers**

 **DISLIKES: Long skirts, math, tomatoes**

 _Well, the unicorn-love's fairly obvious,_ I thought to myself.

"Actually," Naho said, "my acting's a bit different. I'm usually hired by families or people who are lonely and looking for friendship. I'm hired to act out certain roles in people's lives - friends, daughters, siblings. That kind of thing. I recently worked with a family whose daughter ran away from them, so I pretended to be her for a couple months whilst they figured everything out."

I nodded. "Oh, I see. That's a lot like my kind of work, except..."

"Except you sleep with your clients." Minnie said, blunt.

"E-Except he acts as their _romantic partners._ " Kara corrected as he fiddled with his suit. His cheeks were flushed red again, which was kind of funny when I realized it matched his red hair.

"Nah, Minnie's description is more accurate." I said. I turned to Naho and shyly kissed her hand. "A-Anyway, it was lovely to meet the both of you. Naho, I'd love to talk about our careers sometime."

"Mmhm, me too, Ryuu." Naho said, a confident smirk on her lips.

Kara and I left the dinning room after our goodbyes.

"Well, we saved the best two rooms for last," Kara said, not hesitating to take me to the next room down the hall. "I assume the last of our class will be there."

He said the last two rooms, but as I glanced up and down and brightly lit hallway, I noticed there were three doors I had yet to go through. That wasn't even including the ominous, gated elevator which had yet to be explained. Now, our hands were pressed against each other's naturally; no longer was it a conscious gesture. Kara seemed set on approaching the door at the far end of the hall, right across from the laundry room, but I tugged him back.

"Wait a second, what about the third door?" I said.

"Oh. Well, the door beside our bedroom is the girls' bedroom." He said.

"Uh huh."

"..." Kara narrowed his eyes at me. _"Uh huh...?"_

 _"...So?_ I don't understand."

"Ryuu, we are _not_ going to the girl's bedroom."

"Why not? One of the girls I haven't met might be in there." I said.

"Then we'll meet her later! It's private for them! We're not going in there like a couple of perverts!" Kara exclaimed. So far, Kara had remained pretty calm, and his voice was always mellow and polite, so it was a bit surprising to hear him suddenly so loud.

"Huh? But I'd be the only pervert." I said. _"You_ don't even swing that way."

 _"W-Wha...?_ When did I-" Kara stuttered, blushing bright red again. He didn't need to tell me. It was part of my job to be able to tell what everyone was into in a matter of seconds.

Laughing, I pulled him towards the door he originally wanted to take me through. "Alright, alright! No ladies' bedroom, I promise."

I slid open the far door, and an instant wave of chemical-scented air wafted by me. The two of us stepped in to find a huge swimming pool. It was in the centre of the room, designed with a curved, almost peanut-like shape. The pool looked deepest in the middle, gradually getting more shallow on both ends, right up to a short set of stairs out of the water. There was an elevated rectangle in the middle of the pool - no idea what that was for. In the corner of the room, the was a circular hot tub, which, at the moment, shone with green lights. You could probably change the colour of the lighting with the control panel near the door, and I wouldn't be surprised if you could change the pool's colour as well. Observing the control panel more, you could also adjust the heat of the hot tub, the maximum being _"Boiling"_. _Not sure why anyone would set it to that temperature..._

Surrounding the pool were spotless white tiles, and along one of the white walls was a large shelf carrying hundreds of white towels. There were two girls here - one organizing and folding the towels, and the other mopping the already clean floor. Kara and I walked over to greet them.

"Hey, girls. I didn't expect to see people voluntarily cleaning around here." I said. The two of them looked at me with a lack of expression.

The ponytailed girl playing with the towels spoke with a soft, deep voice. "Hi. Do you want to join our club?"

"I'm surprised you already formed a club," Kara said. "We've only been here for maybe five or six hours."

"Well, it just kind of happened naturally." She said, fluffing out a towel. "Chinami and I didn't want to talk to anyone, so we hid in the pool room, and now we kind of have this Anti-Social Club going on."

"Sounds like fun!" I said with a smile. "So what do you do in this club?"

I noticed the other girl, who had messy black hair and a bandana wrapped around her head, glanced around the pool room in silence. She held the handle of the mop close to her chest and shrugged. "So far? Avoiding people and cleaning."

"W-Well, _you_ didn't have to clean, Chinami." The ponytailed girl said, blushing and fiddling with a towel in her hands. "It's just that t-the towels were bothering me, okay? I-If you read the tags, you'll notice they're all from different companies, and if you l-look really close, you'll notice they're all different tones of white. A-And they weren't folded very well, so, uhm, I want to organize them." She turned to me, a bit awkward and avoiding eye contact. "H-Hey, do you think I should organize them by company name, alphabetically, or by, uh, colour?"

"By colour, you mean barely noticeable different shades of white?" I said. The girl shrugged, and I copied her. "I guess by colour...?"

She nodded and got on it.

"Yeah, she just started doing that when we got here, so I thought I'd clean too." Chinami said. "It's kind of second nature to me anyway, being the Ultimate Janitor. Oh, yeah, I forgot to introduce myself to you. My name's Chinami Hojo. Oh, wait, was I supposed to say my name before my talent? Eh, whatever. No going back now."

 _ **...: Chinami Hojo / Ultimate Janitor :...**_

Chinami was an interesting looking girl. She had slightly tanned skin and a round face. Her hazel eyes were sort of dull, lacking the energy and liveliness everyone else had. She had an average build; she stood at an average height, with a flat-chest and skinnier hips. Her black, shoulder-length hair was unkempt - tangled with choppy layers. She accessorized herself only with a red bandana wrapped around her head. Otherwise, she wore a navy blue, baggy polo shirt with long sleeves and a pair of lighter, faded jeans. Both of these had various patched up holes and stains in random places. With all that effort put into trying to salvage her clothes, she might as well just by new ones. She also wore some scrunched up white socks and a pair of black sneakers. In her back pocket, I noticed a pair of rubber teal gloves dangling out.

"Very nice to meet you, Chinami! I'm Ryuu Maekawa, and I'm the Ultimate Male Courtesan." I said, flashing her an energetic grin.

Chinami just stared at me with a dull, emotionless expression. "Okay."

 _Geez, tough crowd._ "And your name is?" I asked, turning to the other girl.

She stopped rolling up towels just long enough to quietly introduce herself. "Uh, Kiyomi Takata. I'm the Ultimate Stand-up Impressionist."

 _ **...: Kiyomi Takata / Ultimate Stand-up Impressionist :...**_

With the way she held herself, I never would've guessed she was in the entertainment business. She had fairly pale skin and tired, deep brown eyes that refused to make eye contact with mine. Her auburn hair was pulled up into a basic ponytail that just barely touched her shoulders. A cute, straight fringe was left hanging just above her eyes. Kiyomi wore a stylish Prussian-blue blazer with white, vertical stripes with Hope's Peak Academy's logo printed on the front. She wore it over a white, long-sleeved blouse and grey, straight pants that were sort of faded at the knees. On her feet, she wore a pair of classy derby shoes with some white ankle socks sticking out. I realized she was a shorter girl, though maybe she would've stood taller if she stood with proper posture.

"I see! I'd love to hear some of your impressions, Kiyomi. I bet you're hilarious on stage." I said.

Kiyomi just blushed and turned back to the towel shelf. "N-No. I'm really not great. I just-uhm..."

"Kiyomi, you're literally the Ultimate Stand-up Impressionist. You _have_ to be good."

"I-I... N-No, there are better people out there."

"But they weren't scouted and invited to Hope's Peak Academy. _You_ were!"

"W-Well, y-you know... I'm sure there's a lot of d-drunk people who work there w-who don't know what they're doing and-"

I groaned. "Kiyomi. Shut up. _You're amazing._ Just take the compliment, okay?"

Kiyomi just went silent, and, if it was even possible, avoided my eyes even more. I decided to just shrug it off. I'd get her to hear my compliments one day, I'm sure.

"So are you joining our club, Ryuu?" Chinami asked.

"Your Anti-Social Club?" I said. "Well, I don't know. You guys aren't doing so well. You guys keep saying you're anti-social, but you keep talking to me and Kara."

Chinami and Kiyomi looked at each other at this revelation. Their faces were blank, but clearly, they hadn't thought of this.

 _"Oh..."_ Chinami said.

"Well, I'm gonna pass on the Anti-Social Club and finishing greeting everyone, but I wish you all the best with your people-avoiding and unnecessary cleaning! See you later! Have fun!" I exclaimed. I tried to throw in some extra cheeriness in hopes to get either one of them to smile a little, but the two of them just nodded quietly and went back to mopping and towel folding. The pool room filled with an awkward silence, so Kara and I quietly shuffled out into the hall.

The second the pool door shut behind me, I let out a lengthy yawn. "Geez, I feel like those two just drained all of my energy."

"Mmhm. I suppose they're not the most lively people here." Kara said, failing to hold back a yawn himself. Rubbing my eyes, I decided to read through Kiyomi and Chinami's forms on my Monophone.

 **...: CHINAMI HOJO :...**

 **...: ULTIMATE JANITOR :...**

 **HEIGHT: 5'6**

 **WEIGHT: 134 lbs**

 **LIKES:** **Reading, warm showers, tile flooring**

 **DISLIKES:** **Snow, cigarettes, stairs**

 **./.**

 **...: KIYOMI TAKATA :...**

 **...: ULTIMATE STAND-UP IMPRESSIONIST :...**

 **HEIGHT: 5'2**

 **WEIGHT: 105 lbs**

 **LIKES:** **Silence, humour, Internet memes**

 **DISLIKES:** **Clutter, attention, discords**

Chinami and Kiyomi - they both seemed like lovely people, but I'd need to find someway of talking to them without losing all my energy. "Please tell me the last room is a karaoke bar or something. I need something to wake me up." I said.

Kara smiled and took my hand, quickly guiding me across the hall - to the door right beside the laundry room. "It's even better than that."

Kara pulled me into another, brightly lit room. However, it wasn't just white lights and green beams; this room had all sorts of flashing lights, changing and flashing to the beat of a remix playing through the speakers. In front of me was a few short rows of theatre chairs, all white with various neon-coloured cushions. In front of the chairs was a large wall, completely made out of a flat screen TV. There were four, neon green podiums - two on either side of the screen. Two of them had wireless VR headsets resting on them, along with a pair of high-tech motion-sensor gloves and boots. The other two podiums had their VR sets taken off, I assumed by the girl and the boy standing in front of the screen, playing some sort of horror game with the VR headsets. There was a third girl as well, sitting on one of the chairs in the front row. She seemed to be watching them intently, cheering them on with a grin.

"Okay, you're right." I said to Kara. "This is _way_ better than a freaking karaoke bar!"

"I thought you'd like it." Kara said.

I didn't waste anymore time. I ran over to the front row where one of the girls sat, a bit of a skip in my step. I sat beside her, my eyes glued to the horror game on the screen and its incredibly realistic graphics.

"Hey there," I said to the girl.

"O-Oh, hi!" She said with a cute smile. "I'm Ameko. You must be the guy who wouldn't wake up."

"Sure am," I said. _"Ryuu."_

"Nice to meet you." Ameko said. The two of us turned away from the screen long enough to shake each other's hands. She quite pretty, with her beautiful white skin and her striking baby blue eyes. Her hair was short, cut just before her shoulders with bold, straight bangs. Some of it was clipped back with some waterdrop-shaped hair clips, but most of her bangs hung in front of her forehead. She had an oval-shaped face, and she stood at a pretty average height, which made her extremely thin figure that much more noticeable. She wore a white shirt under a black, baggy sweater. She also wore a cute, blue and black checkered skirt, a pair of black stockings, and some white sneakers.

I turned back to the screen. "So what're they playing?"

" _Bloodbath Death._ " Ameko said. I noticed Kara hesitantly taking a seat beside me as Ameko explained. "It's this horror game where you have to try and kill each other in various settings and levels. You run around, using items that set up gruesome traps, send murderous psychos or animals or monsters after the other players... That kind of thing."

Ameko seemed like a sweet girl so far, so it was weird to hear her talking about such violent stuff in that gentle, kind voice. "Are you into games like this, Ameko?"

"O-Oh, I wouldn't say that. But I do know a lot about these kinds of games. Or at least with this one..." Ameko bashfully tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "B-Because I was part of this game's creation. I'm the Ultimate Voice Actor. You'll see me in the credits of this game - _Ameko Amane."_

 _ **...: Ameko Amane / Ultimate Voice Actor :...**_

"Oh, I didn't realize that, Ameko." Kara said.

"Y-Yeah. I've been apart of the creation of a bunch of games, though I mostly do voice over work for animations." She said, blushing a bit. "I voiced the character that Yume is playing."

Yume, I assumed, was the girl with one of the VR headsets on her. She seemed like she had a lot of points - clearly, she was winning - but just when the three of us looked back up at the large screen, her character got attacked by a giant, murderous wolf. Her character screamed, _"MOTHERFUCKER!"_ as she was tackled to the ground - a voice that was insanely hard to believe was Ameko's. Yume herself screamed and stumbled back. As her character was brutally ripped to shreds, Yume lost her footing and tripped right onto Ameko's lap.

Yume reached up and slipped off her VR headset, her boisterous laughter filling the VR room. She turned to Ameko, apologizing through her laughter. "Sorry! Sorry! Tsutomu's insanely good at this shit."

"Uhm, y-yeah, it's no problem at all, Yume..." Ameko said, unsteady and a blushing mess.

Yume finally untangled herself from Ameko and her chair, popping back onto her feet with a grin. She began to slip off her gloves when she noticed me and Kara. "Woah, you're new. I thought I'd met everyone." She said, for a moment glancing at my shoes. Then she cracked her knuckles and flashed me an energetic grin. "Well, time for another introduction, I guess. My name's Yume Igarashi, and I'm the Ultimate Who-The-Fuck-Knows!"

I tilted my head. _"...Sorry?"_

Kara explained. "Yume's the only one here who doesn't remember her talent."

"Really? Why don't you just check the Monophone?" I asked, pulling out my own and tapping on Yume's icon.

 **...: YUME IGARASHI :...**

 **...: ULTIMATE ? :...**

 **HEIGHT: 5'5**

 **WEIGHT: 143 lbs**

 **LIKES:** **Death metal, technology, video games**

 **DISLIKES:** **Heights, manual work, healthy food**

"See? I'm not _that_ stupid; don't you think I would've checked that by now?" Yume said. "I was doing so well against Tsutomu in that game, I thought for a second I might be the Ultimate Gamer or something. But, uh, I guess not."

 _I guess she really doesn't remember her talent... Well, there_ is _one of those people in Danganronpa every season, isn't there?_

 _ **...: Yume Igarashi / Ultimate ? :...**_

Yume's energy and confidence was pretty refreshing. She was fairly pale with a heart-shaped face and slender, dark-brown eyes. Her hair was long, pin-straight, and dyed purple with a golden fringe hanging in her face. Yume wore a graphic t-shirt with the word, "IZANAMI" written on it with bold, white letters. A white skull with crossed bones seemed to be "Izanami"'s logo, whatever that was. Over that, she wore a dark denim jacket, matching her dark denim skinny jeans with torn holes on the knees. She wore black and white sneakers with a pair of black socks. Yume accessorized herself with a pair of fingerless black gloves and a choker necklace with shiny, silver spikes sticking out of it. I admired her two lip piercings and her silver earrings; the girl was pretty stylish.

Still holding Yume's holographic form and head shot, I realized I hadn't looked into Ameko's information. I tapped on her silhouette.

 **...: AMEKO AMANE :...**

 **...: ULTIMATE VOICE ACTOR :...**

 **HEIGHT: 5'6**

 **WEIGHT: 103 lbs**

 **LIKES:** **Rain, forehead kisses, strawberry cheesecake**

 **DISLIKES:** **Despair, timid people, own family**

Suddenly, Yume's hand started waving through my Monophone's hologram. _"Hello?_ Stop ignoring me and introduce yourself, man."

"Ah, my apologies! My name's Ryuu Maekawa. I'm the Ultimate Male Courtesan." I said, smiling up at Yume.

"Courtesan...?" Yume blinked at me for a moment. Then she gasped, grabbed her VR headset, and spoke to the other guy who was still playing the game. "DUDE! WE HAVE AN _ULTIMATE HOOKER_ IN OUR CLASS!"

Gasping in excitement, the boy ripped off his VR headset and whipped around to face us. Behind Yume and this guy - Tsutomu, I remembered his name was - the horror game immediately paused, sensing the players had taken off their equipment. Tsutomu faced the chairs with a large smile until I stood up to introduce myself. Then, suddenly, his smile disappeared.

 _"Oh."_ Tsutomu said.

"Hey, what kind of reaction is that?" I said with a laugh. "Don't worry, if it's the fact that I'm a guy, I'm pretty good at cross-dressing. It wouldn't take long before you forget I'm a guy if you wanted to hire me or whatever."

 _"R-Ryuu!"_ Kara said, standing up behind me.

"What?"

Tsutomu shrugged, slipping his hands into his lab coat _(Ultimate Scientist?)_. "No, it's not the whole guy thing. I bat for both teams." He said bluntly. "I'm just not attracted to you. You're too tall."

 _"Too tall?"_ Kara said.

"Yeah, you're almost my height. I don't like it."

"Well, there's nothing a man can do about that. Don't you think what your saying is a bit insensitive?"

"Nah, it's okay, Kara." I said. It really didn't bother me at all. "I'm Ryuu Maekawa! I'm technically called the Ultimate Male Courtesan, by the way. Not the Ultimate Hooker."

"Well, I won't judge your career choice," He said, totally judging my career choice. "I'm Tsutomu Kiyomizu, and I'm the Ultimate Toxicologist."

 _ **...: Tsutomu Kiyomizu / Ultimate Toxicologist :...**_

Tsutomu was an interesting guy. He was the only one out of us guys with pretty short, cleanly trimmed beard, fading gracefully into stubble up his face. He was probably an inch taller than me, but with his lanky, awkward slouch, we were pretty much on the same level. His skin was pretty pale - not as pale as some other people here, but it really showcased his dark eye bags; clearly wasn't getting enough rest. His poisonous purple hair was pretty sick, all fluffy with a side fringe just above his deep green eyes.

He obviously wore a creased lab coat, with his sleeved rolled up so you could see the light hairs on his arms. Beneath that, he wore a simple black graphic t-shirt with a purple skull and a splatter design behind it. Tsutomu also wore a pair of cargo shorts, a brown belt with tubes of green and purple liquid attached to it, and a pair of brown sandals. On top of his head, he had a pair of reading glasses, and his ears were pierced with small, grey skull earrings.

"Toxicologist, huh? Maybe you and Ash would have a lot to talk about then." I said. _I_ certainly knew nothing about Tsutomu's line of work.

"'Ash'? You mean that dwarf with the Christmas eyes?" Tsutomu asked.

Kara crossed his arms. _"Dwarf?"_

I tapped my chin. _"Christmas eyes...?"_

Before Tsutomu could continue our conversation, Yume stepped in and stared at me with such intensity, I swore her eyes were sparkling. "Hey, so what's it like screwing old men?!"

"Pardon me?" Kara spoke up before I could say anything.

"I mean, surely what you do is illegal, isn't it? You're underage! You can't be getting paid to have sex with adults, right?"

"Well, it's not just sex, especially for someone with the title of a courtesan." I explained. "I have to take on the complete role of people's romantic partners - that includes all the vulnerability and emotional love and support. Sometimes, I'm just paid to spend a day getting coffee with someone as they rant about their issues in life, or just to spend an evening with someone at their house, making sure they feel loved and no longer alone. People have different preferences as well, and it's not just their sexual tastes, it's their emotional tastes as well. People respond better to certain personalities, and I have to find that personality and apply it as fast as possible."

Kara nodded along, genuinely interested and enlightened. Tsutomu and Yume paused for a second. Then, Tsutomu clicked his tongue and bluntly said, "Yeah, but you _do_ basically just have sex with people."

"Well," I said, _"yeah."_

"Okay, but having sex with people isn't really talent." Yume said.

"Pfft, says the girl who doesn't even _remember_ her talent." Tsutomu scoffed. Yume stuck her tongue out at him.

"Oh, no. It's a talent." I said. I turned to Yume. "You're a bisexual with a preference for cute things, despite the rugged appearance you but on. Emotionally, you're probably more likely to open up to someone unlike you - bit more on the patient side, and maybe a bit of a nerd themselves so you have some things in common. Your ideal date night is probably an evening at home, playing video games with your significant other and dancing to loud music on the balcony. Also, you have a foot kink, but that's nothing to be ashamed of."

Yume was speechless.

"Anything I missed?" I asked. I couldn't help but gloat a bit, okay?

Surprisingly, Tsutomu and Kara were the ones to flush red. Yume just kind of nodded at me, and we shared a moment of silent mutual respect and understanding. Tsutomu took a couple steps back and stuffed his hands into his coat pockets.

 _"H-Hey,_ you're not gonna analyze me next, are you?" Tsutomu said, increasing the distance between us by the second.

"I already have, but I won't say your kinks out loud. They're _way_ too embarrassing." I said with a shrug. Tsutomu's eyes went wide in horror, and I couldn't help but laugh. Actually, the guy had nothing embarrassing on him, not as far as I could tell at least. I just said that to scare him.

"Okay, well, we should really get going now!" Kara said, a slight crack in his voice. "Thanks for introducing yourselves! Bye for now!"

Suddenly, I was being roughly pushed out of the VR room. I managed to get a short wave goodbye in before Kara pushed me out into the hall, and the only person who waved back was Yume with a smirk on her face. Kara slid the door shut before I could do anything else.

 _"My goodness..."_ Kara huffed, brushing off the front of his suit vest. After a moment of silence, Kara finally met my eyes and said something. "Hey, I apologize for their behaviour in there. They were being rude to you about your talent and all."

 _Huh? Does he think I'm offended?_ "Is that why you were in such a rush to get me out of there? Kara, I appreciate that, but I'm chill with it. I really like talking about my talent and what I do." I said. I clicked open my Monophone and tapped the final, unlocked silhouette in my **Friends** app.

 **...: TSUTOMU KIYOMIZU :...**

 **...: ULTIMATE TOXICOLOGIST :...**

 **HEIGHT: 5'11**

 **WEIGHT: 161 lbs**

 **LIKES:** **Toxins, sugar, coffee**

 **DISLIKES:** **Salt, cold, tea**

 _Hm, seems like a number of people here have a sweet tooth..._

"You shouldn't let people talk about you like that though, Ryuu. You deserve to be treated with respect." Kara said. He took this a lot more seriously than I did.

So I tried to ease the tension a bit. "Kara, are you being overprotective because you're falling for me?"

Kara didn't say anything for a bit. I noticed his cheeks blushed a bit as he adjusted the cuffs of his red shirt, his eyes now shifting to a corner of the hall. Then, he finally mumbled, "Ryuu, are... are y-you... _flirting_ with me?"

"Um, sorry. It's kind of a habit with me. I flirt with everyone. I can't stop myself, haha..." I said, quietly. I worried I had gone a bit far, made him uncomfortable. I had been poking and teasing at him all day.

Before Kara could say anything, a soft ring echoed from my Monophone. I took it out of my pocket again, noticing a little notification on my **ChatPal** app. Only a second later, Kara got the same text tone, and his hologram displayed a notification as well. We tapped on the app at the same time. We both had an automatic message sent from someone named _**PinkSkull.**_

 **PINKSKULL:** _Hello. Welcome to **DanganronpaV4.2.** On behalf of our audience, I'd like to tell you how much we appreciate you being here. It means a lot to the world. And it means a lot to our sales to. Now that every has officially met each other, please make your way into the hallway for a special announcement. And please do so within the next minute or you will be punished immediately via internal combustion. Thank you. We appreciate your compliance._

"I-Internal combustion...?" I said. I wasn't entirely sure how that'd happen, but the words left a sour enough taste in my mouth for me to comply and avoid it. I turned to the flat screen on one of the hallway walls. "That's probably where the announcement will be, right?"

"...Yes. That's a good assumption." Kara said, quiet. I didn't ask him what was wrong. I didn't have to. We both knew what was swelling up inside one another: _fear._ We both knew what was coming, and frankly, for a lack of better phrasing, we were scared shitless.

I took a deep breath. _Inhale._ Multiple doors slid open around us and the rest of our class began to crowd around the TV. _Hold._ A quiet murmur of fear and uncertainty began to echo through the halls. _Exhale._ I took a step forward to join everyone else.

But then Kara grabbed my arm. "Hey, uh, Ryuu..." He said, still blushing. "Uhm, I just wanted to say... Don't... Don't be sorry."

For the first time, Kara managed to make me blush. "Fine then," I said. "I'm not sorry at all."

Then the two of us stepped up to the crowd, together, with Kara still gently holding onto my arm.

* * *

 _ **Phew. Thanks for reading this stupidly long chapter. If there's one thing I hate doing, it's describing characters' appearances and their clothes in big, chunky paragraphs T_T So I'm thankful this intro chapter's finished.**_ _ **Let me know if you have any thoughts, concerns, etc... Oh! And let me know what you think of our disaster of a protagonist, Ryuu! I think I'm having too much fun with him.**_

 _ **Probably won't be another update for awhile. Fair warning now: I'm an incredibly slow writer. But I hope when I do update, you'll come back and enjoy :)**_

 _ **Again, have a good 2018, everyone! Hope it's better than 2017.**_

 ** _With love,_**

 ** _-hurgleplargh_**


	4. Chapter 1: A Fountain of Blood (Pt2)

**_Hello! Finally, we are back and live!_**

 ** _I'm in a bit of a rush to get this out, so honestly, some of the proof-reading will be done within the next couple of days._** ** _I will also update later with actual replies to the reviews for the last chapter (Thank you so much to all that gave feedback! You're the best! ^,^)_** ** _So if you're reading soon after I publish this, you'll probably run into some grammar mistakes. My apologies :(_**

 _ **Sorry for the delay. Hopefully 12K words will make up for it? Also, Free Time Events start in this chapter! There will be five more in the next chapter, those of which will be chosen by you guys; there's a poll up on my profile where you can vote for who you want Ryuu to hang out with. Be sure to check that out :)**_

 ** _Same warnings as last chapter. Some strong language and brief sexual discussions._**

 ** _And now, back to the killing game!_**

* * *

All sixteen of us crowded into one end of the hallway, our heads tilted up at the giant flat-screen television. A minute had passed what felt like years ago, but nothing happened. We all just stood by one another. We swayed on our feet. Fingers twitching. I could tell everyone had the same two words running through their heads. _Anytime now..._ But seconds and seconds passed by, and the screen remained utterly black. Had we done something wrong? Was someone not here?

 _No, everyone's here._ I glanced around me and counted the heads and recalled their names. I quietly mumbled what I remembered their likes and dislikes were, like maybe that could distract me from the roots of fear growing in my stomach. But another minute of silence went by, and I stopped. I couldn't just sit in my own shaking anymore. I had to fill the silence with something.

I pulled my arm out of Kara's hand and walked up to the hallway wall, right beneath the TV screen. I rose up on my toes a bit and waved to catch everyone's eyes.

"Hello? H-Hi, everyone!" I said, only now realizing how sweaty I was. "Um, I just uh... I wanted to make sure we all... know what's happening. What's about to happen."

Silence swept over the hallway again, and I wondered for a moment if I was alone with the knowledge. _I wasn't the only one who watched Danganronpa, was I? I just assumed, but maybe-_

"Of course we do." Kara said, and I shook my head at my silliness. _Of course._ Kara had already told me he knew Danganronpa. I scanned the crowd, noticing near most everyone start to nod their heads. Furanshishu even smiled with her nod.

"Yes, we all have," The Archaeologist said, "so there's no need for any of us to worry! We all know what we're getting into, so we all know how to fight it!"

At Furanshishu's encouraging smile, Ash suddenly got all positive as well. "Y-Yeah, we're not gonna fall for it! We're not going to... Uhm..."

"Kill each other?" Okinawa, now wearing her freshly washed sailor outfit, finished Ash's sentence. The tension we were just starting to crack immediately built up in the hall again. It was weird. The heavy word seemed so light mixed with her childish voice.

"Huh? Kill? Did someone say kill?" Akira perked up like a puppy dog.

"Yeah, you weirdo. Killing people is what Danganronpa's all about." Tsutomu said, shuffling an inch or two away from Akira.

Akira cocked his head. "The fuck's a _Dang-Gong-Rompa_?"

No one knew what to say. I didn't know what everyone else's silence came from, but mine came from a realization. _Akira._ The Ultimate- _motherfucking_ -Serial Killer. In this game we were going to be forced to play - where killing each other was the main objective of it all. A tremble grew from my stomach, rippling down all my limps and up my throat. I almost gagged on my fear.

I held my stomach, nearly ready to blow chunks. "Oh my god... We're fucking screwed."

 _"Ya sure got that right, buddy!"_ A high-pitched, cartoonish voice rung in my ears. Suddenly kicked behind the legs, I stumbled forward into the crowd, Furanshishu steadying me. I hardly even realized I was being held by a gorgeous girl; all my attention was focused on the thing that just kicked me - the thing with that chilling voice that seemed to echo through my skull. I whipped around, and my heart sunk at the sight of him.

 _Monokuma._ A dumb, complicatedly-built robot bear that stood as a mascot for despair, at least in the Danganronpa universe. But really, what did universes matter? Now that _we_ were in Danganronpa, Monokuma was _our_ despair.

He stood pretty short in front of us, all dressed up in a gold-sequined blazer with a black collar and dramatically spiked up shoulders. He had golden shoes to match, along with a pair of golden sequined gloves. All around his glowing red eye, he had a bunch of golden glitter too. The ridiculous outfit almost made him less intimidating. Almost.

Well aware of his power and role in all this, we all flinched back when he threw his arms up and let out a, _"Tah-duh!"_ Monokuma even threw in a twirl. "Revealing your lovable host for the 54th time, iiiiittttttt's Monokuma!"

The only ones who didn't flinch were Okinawa and Akira. Oki actually clapped her hands together, her eyes almost sparkling. _"Woooowwwww!_ You're _so_ much cuter in real life!"

Akira seemed more confused than anything. "What in the hell are you?"

"Dude, did your ears get chopped off or something? I literally _just_ said my name." Monokuma said. Then he whipped out another twirl and threw his little arms up again. "Iiiiittttttt's Monokuma!"

Suddenly, the screen behind Monokuma flickered on, and a giant, fluorescent pink skull appeared. Confetti burst out on the screen all around the skull as it spoke in a sort of cutesy robotic, female voice. This was obviously the _PinkSkull_ who messaged all of us. **"Iiiiittttttt's Monokuma!"**

"Okay, yeah, we get it. You only said it, like, five times." Minnie groaned.

"Yeah, we all know what's happening." Naho said, a serious look on her face I hadn't seen before. "So we might as well skip all this."

" _I_ don't know what's happening!" Akira said with a giant smile, and I swear his teeth were suddenly sharper than they were before. "But for some reason I'm getting really excited. And I have this weird tingling going on in my crotch too!"

"Uh, wait... What?" Chinami said.

"He's slowly tuning in on what's happening. And he's, uh, sexually attracted to... murder-y stuff." I explained, shrugging. I had analyzed all of my peers sexual and romantic interests, and Akira's was less than comforting. "I didn't know whether or not to tell you guys."

Kara winced. "Yeah, I definitely could've gone without knowing that..."

"What would you call that? 'Murdersexual'?" Kiyomi tapped her chin, actually giving this serious thought.

Making us all jolt, the PinkSkull spoke up again. **"Sexual attraction to homicide is actually fairly common among the human species. A recent study showed that a total of 0.9% of humans are genuinely attracted to murder, blood, corpses, etcetera. All of the participants of this study that showed positive signs of being sexually attracted to these things were also loyal followers of Danganronpa."**

"Well, PinkSkull, you can add 100% of sickeningly, adorable bears to that statistic too! Nothing beats that tingle of excitement when you watch friends betray their dear friends by _literally_ stabbing them in the back!" Monokuma squealed. "Which is why, brought back by not-so-popular demand, Danganronpa is being rebooted! Allow me to officially welcome you to _DanganronpaV4.2!"_

 **"Hoor-rah."** PinkSkull tossed out another burst of confetti on her screen.

None of us were as enthusiastic. Even Akira stayed quiet, crossing his arms and staring at up at PinkSkull, though I think he was just confused. I was sure the second Monokuma laid down the rules, he be just as cheery as the creepy-ass bear.

"Oh, cut the crap!" Etsuko said, stepping forward towards Monokuma. "Who's controlling you this time, huh? Who started up the killing game again?"

"What? You think I'm just gonna tell you 'cause you asked?" Monokuma said. "We have to pace this story out, dimwit - keep the tension and mystery going until the audience just can't take it anymore! That's not something you'll figure out until, like, Chapter 5 or something. If you live that long."

Tsuneo stepped up beside his sister, mustering up what little confidence he had. "W-Well, we're never going to get to _'Chapter 5'_. We're not going to play your game, Monokuma. We're stronger than you, and we know exactly what's going on. S-So..." Tsuneo trailed off, fidgeting with his apron. "We're all going to stay alive... R-Right?"

"Yeah, Flower Boy's right!" Yume said. "Whoever the fuck you are, we ain't killing each other! We're not playing your stupid game! There's a reason this series was discontinued, y'know."

"Mmhm. Is anyone even watching now? It got such terrible ratings last season, I don't think anyone would want to tune in." Ameko said.

 **"Yes. Exactly twelve people are watching right now."** PinkSkull said, then paused. **"Oh, please hold for a moment. Now it's thirteen. Hello, new viewer!"**

"Hi!" Okinawa said with a big grin, waving at the surveillance camera near the ceiling of the hall. We all stared at her, and she stared back at us with just as much confusion. "What? It's kind of exciting to be on TV."

"I don't see the point in putting so much effort and money into a show that only has thirteen viewers." Taeki returned the conversation back to Monokuma.

"Hey! Hey! Just because they're in the minority doesn't mean they don't deserve to be entertained! These people have been deprived of the gory murders, thrilling plot lines, and devastating heartache that Danganronpa brought into their lives since the cancellation. It's our job to bring back their hope with a new, improved, and flashy new season of The Killing Games! Ah-hahahahaha!" Monokuma's laughter boomed out through the hallway. "Honestly, you guys should be grateful. Based on what we've analyzed, you guys should make this one of the most thrilling games of the series ever."

"What do you mean by that?" Furanshishu asked.

 **"The Gamemaker has been going through extensive research in order to create a killing game that'll generate the most amount of positive reviews. They added the results of their studies into my data banks, and I selected every single one of you based on them. Each of your personalities and talents contribute different elements to this season's plot line."** PinkSkull said. **"If everything goes as planned, and I am not wrong - which I never am because I am a flawless super computer program - then Danganronpa's 54th season should be the best one yet."**

"Wait." Kara stepped forward. "Earlier, you said this was DanganronpaV4.2. That means it's the 54.2 season. What's this _'0.2'_ part?"

"Okay, what the fuck do you guys think this is? Some kind of Q&A? I'm not here to hold your hand. If you guys really know what's going on, like you all keep claiming you do, then stop asking stupid questions!" Monokuma growled.

 **"There is no such thing as a stupid question. Any query for knowledge is positive."** PinkSkull said.

"Shut up, PinkSkull. You're just supposed to agree with me on everything."

 **"That's not part of my programming, Mr. Monokuma."**

"Then make it part of your Goddamn programming!" Monokuma said. "Ugh, I told the Gamemaker I'd only host on the condition that I didn't have some annoying comedy partner to work with, and look what I get paired up with."

 **"That's why the Gamemaker stripped my programming of any personality at all."**

"Somehow, that makes you more annoying." Monokuma grumbled. "Seriously, where is the whisky I was promised?! I could really use some of that shit right now!" Monokuma turned to us. "It ain't easy being the host of Danganronpa, I'll tell you that much, kids."

"Then kindly don't," Tsutomu said. "Fuck off, cancel this killing game, and we can all go home."

 **"Impossible. Mr. Monokuma has already signed the contract."** PinkSkull said. **"Mr. Monokuma, we are wasting time. We must introduce the rules."**

"Ah, right." Monokuma said. "Ears open, people! I'm only gonna go through these once!"

Suddenly, PinkSkull disappeared from the screen, replaced by a screen that looked a lot like the holographic menus on our Monophones. Much like the **Dialog** tab, a bunch of text boxes appeared - ten of them, exactly. Above them, the title said **DANGANRONPAV4.2 B2 RULES.** We zoomed in on the first box, and PinkSkull read out the rule.

 **"Rule #1: Destroying any of the surveillance cameras or anyone's Monophones will result in immediate internal combustion."** PinkSkull said.

"Again with the 'internal combustion'..." I said, my voice shakier than I wanted it to be. "What exactly is that anyway?"

Monokuma perked up. "Well, I'm just so glad you asked, our wonderful Ultimate Sex-a-holic. Internal combustion is when we let the bombs inside of you go off, killing you in an instant! Your limbs will soar across the room, your organs will splatter all over, your blood will explode out all over the place, raining down-"

The urge to vomit came back, and I gripped tightly onto Furanshishu. _"Stop!_ Stop, please! I get it!" I cried out. If that was really true, that we had bombs implanted in us, then we could die at any second. One slip of a button, and our lives were over, bodies in complete ruin. My life truly was in this _"Gamemaker"'s_ hands.

 **"If all inquiries have been addressed, let us please continue,"** PinkSkull said. **"Rule #2: Failure to respond to your assigned ChatPal within 24 hours will result in immediate internal combustion. Of course, that doesn't include messages from me."**

"What's a _ChatPal?_ " Chinami asked.

"You'll find out eventually." Monokuma said. He waved at the screen, and PinkSkull continued to read through the rules.

 **"Rule #3: Only females can enter the female bedroom. The alarm on the door will sound if the sensor detects a male Monophone entering the room. The detected Monophone will release an electric shock as well."** PinkSkull said. **"Rule #4: Only males can enter the male bedroom. The alarm on the door will sound if the sensor detects a female Monophone entering the room. The detected Monophone will release an electric shock as well."**

"Well, at least that doesn't end in internal combustion." Naho said quietly.

 **"Rule #5: The only means of escape is by murdering one of your fellow classmates, participating in the class trial, and getting away with your guilt."**

"Whoomp, there is is." Kiyomi said.

 **"Rule #6: Once a murder occurs, the Body Discovery Announcement will commence when three or more people see the corpse. Rule #7: After a short investigation period, a class trial will commence. Everyone present will have to discuss and convince the Jury to vote for who they think the culprit is."**

Everything PinkSkull and Monokuma said followed a pretty normal Danganronpa format until that point. I never heard of a _jury_ being part of the class trials. I opened my mouth to ask, but decided against it. It wasn't as though we were going to get that far anyway.

 **"Rule #8: If the true culprit is exposed at the end of the class trial, only _they_ will be executed. The rest of the class will escape B2. Rule #9: If the true culprit is not exposed at the end of the class trial, the culprit will win DanganronpaV4.2, and will be rewarded with their freedom. The rest of the class will be executed."**

"Wait a second," Akira spoke up. "So you're telling me to win this game, all I have to do is kill someone and get away with it?"

"Correct." PinkSkull said.

"Bingo, Ringo!" Monokuma said.

I thought Akira would be delighted, but to all our surprise, he was absolutely seething. _"This is bullshit!_ The ONE time where I get to freely kill people is AFTER I'm brainwashed by Hope's Peak Academy! _Ugh!_ I could just kill someone right now, I'm so pissed!"

 _"Upupupupupu,_ sure does suck to suck, doesn't it?" Monokuma said. "Well, that's everything. You can always check back on the rules on your Monophones. Now that you all clearly understand, you can now begin the killing game! Be sure to enjoy your days here in the Hasegawa mansion; some of you more unfortunate kids will only have a few here... Upupupupu..."

"Wait, that, like, makes no sense." Minnie said. "You never told us the last rule."

"Oh, yeah," Monokuma said, then looked back up at the screen.

 **"Rule #10: There is no other way to escape the Hasegawa Mansion, so don't even try lol."**

 _"Okay, that's it!"_ Yume exclaimed, stepping up to Monokuma. "I'm sick of you and this stupid PinkSkull lady! You can both eat a dick!"

Yume then swiftly kicked Monokuma in his crotch area, which I wasn't entirely sure did anything to a robotic bear. Still, Monokuma reeled back, stumbling into the wall. Yume shook out her foot, whining at her pain for a moment before walking up to Monokuma and kicking him again.

 _"OW!_ What's wrong with you, you psycho?! P-PinkSkull, _do something!"_ Monokuma screamed out as Yume stomped on him over and over again. None of us moved to stop her. I knew what she was doing was dangerous, but I so badly wanted to do the same to Monokuma, so I kind of just let myself enjoy watching the stupid bear get beat up.

 **"'No violence towards Mr. Monokuma or myself' is not in the rulebook for this season unfortunately. This is completely acceptable behaviour."** PinkSkull said, her skull face appearing on the screen again.

 _"WHAT?!_ I didn't sign up for this!" Monokuma growled.

"Oh, shut up, you stupid teddy bear!" Yume cried. She lifted Monokuma into her arms and brought him up to eye level. A smirk on her face, she pulled back her fist, and Monokuma lifted his paws up in surrender.

 _"Okay, okay, wait!_ Just _please_ avoid the face! I spent a lot of time and money making getting this glitter perfect and-"

Yume took that as an offering to punch him right in the face.

 _"OW! Shit!_ Alright, you brat! I was going to be cute and passive, but you asked for it!" Monokuma cried. Yume pulled back her arm, ready to send another blow when Monokuma's expression suddenly went blank, and his body went rigid. Confused, Yume tilted her head and shook him a bit, but she got no reaction.

I wasn't particularly concerned; I thought he might've just turned himself off. But suddenly, Tsutomu bolted forward and yanked Monokuma out of Yume's hands.

 _"WAIT!"_ he screamed. With flushed skin and wild eyes, he glanced between the quiet Monokuma and all around the hallway. _"E-Everyone stand back!"_

"W-What? What's going on, Tsutomu?" Ameko asked, taking a couple steps back with the rest of us.

"If this is anything like the other games then-" Tsutomu pressed his ear against Monokuma's stomach, and somehow, his eyes got even wider. _"Shit! Shit, shit, shit!_ _Uhm-!_ _S-Stay back, everyone!"_

We all followed his orders and shuffled away from him. He took a deep breath, face paling by the second, and tossed Monokuma as hard as he could into the flat screen.

Suddenly, Monokuma exploded.

Spouts of electricity sparked out as the television was destroyed. The wall behind it crumbled too, debris crashing into the floor and sending a wave of smoke and wind over us. Screams erupted, but they were drowned out by the sound of the explosion and the wall falling apart. When the sounds gradually died out, I opened my eyes and saw our destruction. The white wall was now a pile of smashed metal on the floor. Where the wall used to be were a bunch of metal pipes, with screws and large nails clumsily screwed into them. It didn't seem like the nails and screws really did much to hold up the walls, but were more there as defense. It seemed dangerous to even walk up to the laundry or pool room door; one small trip and you could be impaled by a bunch of giant rusty nails.

My heart pounding hard against my ribs, I glanced up at the surveillance camera in the corner of the hall. It hung perfectly - not a scratch on it. I let out a sigh of relief. _Rule #1_ and _#2_ with their _"internal combustion"_ really got to me.

A piece of metal from the pile of debris started to shift, and I jerked back. My reaction seemed a bit silly when Tsutomu climbed out of the pile, bruised and groaning in pain.

Ash immediately ran forward and grabbed his arm, helping him out of the pile. Tsutomu leaned his weight on the small guy (which I think Ash greatly struggled with, but he didn't say anything) as they walked back to the rest of us.

"Oh my goodness, Tsutomu! Are you okay?!" Furanshishu cried out.

"Been better," Tsutomu said with a crooked smirk.

"Thank goodness for you. If you hadn't remembered Monokuma's internal bomb mechanism, Yume might've been..." Ameko said, shaking just at the thought.

"Yeah, talk about lucky. Dude, that was _badass!"_ Yume said. She jumped up next to him with a giant grin and patted him roughly on the back. Tsutomu let out a loud cry of pain, but somehow, she didn't seem to notice.

"U-Uhm, I should probably take him back to his room. I want to check if he has any serious injuries." Ash said. We all agreed that was probably a good idea.

Suddenly, a cutesy _Danganronpa~_ tune sounded from all of our Monophones. We all pulled them out and saw a notification on our menu hologram. A simple: **"It is now 10:00PM."**

"Must be our _'Night Time Announcement'_." Kara said. "It's a lot simpler than previous seasons."

We all nodded in agreement and put away our Monophones. Chinami then grabbed her teal rubber gloves, slipping them on as she walked towards the pile of debris. "Well," the janitor said, "guess I've gotta clean this up."

Furanshishu grabbed her arm before she could even get close. "Wait, Chinami." She said Chinami's name, but spoke out to all of us. "Today has been... extremely stressful. I think our next best course of action is just to rest. We should all go to bed and just... recuperate."

"I'm fine. I'm not tired." Chinami said, looking at Furanshishu with dull eyes. It was hard to tell whether or not she was telling the truth; Chinami _always_ kind of looked tired. "The mess is blocking the laundry and the pool room too. Don't worry, it won't take me long-"

"No, no. Let's leave the work for tomorrow. We've already gone through enough today." Furanshishu insisted.

"Yeaaaaahhh, I'm tired! I wanna sleeeeepppp..." Okinawa whined, flopping her head on Akira's shoulder. He barely seemed to notice.

"Alright! Let's all get a good night's rest! If there was a Night Time Announcement, I bet there'll be a Morning Announcement. We can all wake up to that, freshen ourselves up, and about an hour after that, let's all meet in the dinning room and have breakfast together. We can talk about what we're going to do as a group then. Does that sound okay to everyone?" Furanshishu asked.

"That sounds great," I assured her. I tried to smile as brightly as her, but my smile was weak, heavy. I envied her. Her confidence in spite of everything we just witnessed was so damn admirable.

"Great. We'll see you gentlemen in the morning." Furanshishu said, and her and all the girls shuffled quietly into the female bedroom. "Goodnight!"

I took one last glance at the mess we made, let out a sigh, and followed Kara and the rest of the guys into the bedroom.

* * *

Everyone passed out fairly quickly. I guess we were all pretty emotionally exhausted, so it only took a soft mattress and a lack of light for everyone to get knocked out in a matter of minutes. Everyone except me, though. I just laid on my back, stripped down only to my boxers - white with red hearts printed all over them. My sweat made the sheets stick to my skin, and I writhed against the feeling. My mind and heart couldn't stop racing. Every part of my body felt alive, awake, and uncomfortable. There was no way I could get to sleep anytime soon.

And maybe that was okay.

I sat up and glanced over to Kara's bed beside me. He wore a black, thick robe with deep red shorts for pajamas. We were all pretty thankful to find pajamas and an extra copy of our regular outfits in the drawers beneath our beds. There were even swimsuits provided so we could swim in the pool. I wondered how they got my clothes, but frankly, it was the least of our issues. I was just grateful for what I got.

Kara laid on his side, his back facing towards me. I was pretty sure he passed out with everyone else, but I decided to try anyway.

"Kara?" I mumbled into the darkness. The only light in the room was the soft glow of the green strips on our bed. "You awake?"

Kara mumbled something, then rolled onto his other side to face me. He rubbed his eyes and yawned. "Mm, yes, though I was almost asleep before you woke me up." Thankfully, he didn't sound too annoyed. Just groggy. "Are you okay? Can't fall asleep?"

I shook my head. "I'm... I think I'm too scared."

"No one will attempt anything tonight, and certainly not in here. There's too many possible witnesses." Kara said, sitting up and hanging his legs off the side of his bed.

"Yeah, I know. I'm not scared of being... _murdered_ specifically... I'm just... scared in general." I said.

"Well, that's a natural reaction."

"Are you scared?"

Kara didn't say anything for a while. When he did, his voice shook in a way I hadn't heard from him before. "Ryuu, c-can I be honest with you?"

"Always. You can trust me."

"It won't make you feel any better."

"Kara." I smiled at him. "Stop that. Just tell me."

The Oneirologist stood up, taking a long, deep breath. Then he walked over to my side and took a seat beside me on my bed. He kept a certain distance between us, so in an attempt to make him more comfortable, I scooched over until our shoulders pressed against each other's. However, that only seemed to make him fidget more.

"Ryuu, I... Unlike you, I-I don't trust anyone here. And most of all, I don't trust myself." He said, slowly. "If this really is Danganronpa, then we have everything to fear. The way this game stresses you, manipulates you - you can't fight it. They know everything about you. They know exactly how to push you over the edge. I have _family,_ Ryuu, and I have friends. And I love them with all my heart. I love them so, so much, and... I don't care about anyone here. Not even a little. If any of my friends or family were threatened, I would... kill in a heartbeat."

Bumps crawled up my arm. Suddenly, I wanted to be as far away from Kara as possible, but I stood my ground. I wasn't going to make him feel worse than he already clearly felt. I had to trust him. He had been nothing but kind to me, and even more so, he sat here, right beside me, opening up about something so dark. I nodded, taking my eyes off him and staring into the darkness.

"Killing one person means killing everyone in the end." I reminded him. "So... you would kill _me_ too?"

Kara sighed. "...Yes, Ryuu."

We both fell silent.

I glanced over to the bed across from mine and Kara's. Tsutomu. His body jerked, and his sheets tangled up in his legs. Groans of pain escaped his lips. Obviously, he was having a terrible nightmare, and I didn't know whether or not to wake him. Kara stared at him as well, but he didn't do anything either. So we both did nothing together. I felt helpless.

"I'll be like that." I whispered to Kara. "If I fall asleep, I think I'll have nightmares all night, just like him."

Kara let on a gentle, sad smile, then reached over and propped my pillow up against the headrest. He shifted over, sitting with his back up against the pillow. He patted the space beside him. "Then I'll stay up with you. That way, you won't have any nightmares."

I smiled. Despite what he said, I couldn't imagine a kind man like Kara murdering anyone. Maybe _he_ thought he did, but I didn't think he had it in him. So I continued to trust him.

We stayed up together the whole night.

* * *

I didn't get any sleep that night. Thankfully, Kara got some though. Probably sometime early-morning he drifted off mid-conversation, leaning back on the headrest and sinking into my pillow. When he started quietly snoring, I got off the bed, pulled my blanket over him, and sat back down against the headrest. With no one to talk to anymore, I just stared at the plain, white walls in front of me. Silence took over. I sat there, hands clasped on my lap, just observing that moment of peace. Through the dimly lit bedroom, I glanced over each man - no, boys - I shared this room with.

I saw Taeki at the other end of the room, tangled up in his sheets. Though so extremely shy and quiet during the day, Taeki had no shame in sleeping completely nude. Ironic, and kind of adorable in its own way. I saw Tsuneo in simple white t-shirt that had a small flower printed on the chest, along with a pair of lavender shorts. Unlike the rest of the guys - all sprawled over, sheets thrown, limbs dangling off the sides of the beds - Tsuneo slept perfectly on his back with a small smile on his face, hands just peeking out the blanket. Ash was just across from Kara's bed, wearing this humble green-striped sweater and a pair of white sweatpants. He curled up tightly, squeezing his pillow to his stomach. His jaw quivered, and I wondered if he was having similar nightmares to Tsutomu.

Still, they all seemed so peaceful. So vulnerable. The idea that some of these boys could be dead in the next couple of days yanked at my heart. Maybe Kara didn't care, but I did. I didn't know them, but I cared about every one of them. Scanning over all the sleeping boys again, I told myself I wouldn't let anyone in this mansion fall victim to this disgusting game. Because I cared so damn much.

So I decided I'd make everyone else care too.

Right when the morning announcement played (8:00AM, the same ringtone played from our Monophones simultaniously), I was obviously the first to jump out of bed with not a single wink of sleep. My body ached, and my mind was sort of foggy, but I didn't feel quite as horrible as I thought I would. I walked into our bathroom first, taking one of the two showers. Once I cleaned up, I walked back into the bedroom, changed into my only outfit choice, and headed out into the halls as the rest of the guys just started to wash up.

Lead by a delicious smell wafting from the kitchen, I walked up to the door across from our bedroom and slid the door open.

There, I found Furanshishu working away in front of a steaming stove, poking at some greasy bacon on a pan. Laid out all along the counters were plates of heavenly-scented breakfast dishes, all in large proportions. There were plates of fluffy, scrambled eggs; mounds of bacon that seemed a bit burnt, but still smelled amazing; a perfect tower of buttered toast; a plate of crescents; and a large bowl of fruit salad. And, from the looks of Furanshishu working away in front of the stove, there was still more to come.

Picking my jaw up off the floor, I quietly walked over and hip-bumped her "hello".

She jerked a bit, not having noticed me come in. "O-Oh! R-Ryuu! Uhm, good morning." She said, awkwardly. Weird - I hadn't heard her stutter so much. She then shook her head a bit and greeted me with a smile. "Sorry. Good morning, Ryuu! Hope you had a lovely rest!"

"Yeah..." I mumbled. "So what's all this about?"

"I'm just making everyone breakfast. We all had such a traumatic day yesterday, I thought everyone deserved something nice." She said, peeling some more burnt bacon off the pan and onto a plate. "Plus there's so many ingredients here! We should enjoy the experience of having these luxuries while we're here."

Not asking for permission, I immediately started helping, grabbing the package of strawberries on the counter and chopping them up. I popped a whole one in my mouth and said, "You're so sweet, Furan. You're kind of becoming the 'Mom Friend' of the group."

Furanshishu didn't oppose the nickname, thankfully. She just smiled at that, then returned her focus to finishing up breakfast. She cracked another couple eggs into a pan, and I mixed in the strawberries into the fruit salad. We worked for a while, silent, enjoying one another's company. As she scooped her newest batch of scrambled eggs onto a large plate, I grabbed another strawberry and held it out to feed it to her. I remembered her form said she liked them. She hesitated for a moment, but then leaned forward and bit it out of my hands. My heart got kind of fast. Cute.

But as she chewed on the fruit and looked up at me, her smile turned into a look of worry. "I'm sorry I didn't notice before, Ryuu, but you look so tired. Are you well? Did you get any sleep last night?"

I shook my head. "Not a single bit." I said, but then grinned. "See? Mom friend."

Furan laughed. "Well, someone should take care of you. You need to rejuvenate, Ryuu. Maybe you should take a nap this afternoon to make up for last night."

"Yeah, I might." I said. With nothing to do with my hands, I asked, "Is there anything else I could do to help?"

"Hm..." Stepping away from the hot stove, Furan brought her bandana up to her face to pat away her sweat. "I suppose you could take the plates to the dinning room, if you don't mind. You really didn't have to help."

"No, no. I wanted to." I said. Immediately, I got to work, resting four plates of beautiful breakfast on my palms and forearms. I had a lot of "Waiter/Waitress" gigs, so this was no sweat. Just as I headed for the door, Furan called out to me.

"Ryuu." She said. "...You're really sweet too."

"I try," I said smoothly, then walked out the door.

The second the door shut behind me, I let the blush I was holding back flood into my cheeks. A stupid grin pulled at my lips. I couldn't help it. _Pretty girls and boys will be the death of me._

But the joy immediately raced out of me. _I guess I really shouldn't be joking about death here..._

I tried to shake off the fear, forcing a smile on my face as I entered the dinning room. I stopped by the control panel before setting the plates down, using my elbow to adjust the atmosphere around the table. I set it to a tropical sunrise on the beach; hopefully, everyone would enjoy that. I walked over and set the plates down.

Just as I adjusted the food, two people walked into the room behind me.

"Awh, did you make us breakfast, Ryuu?" A male voice asked.

I brushed off my shirt and began to turn around. "No, actually, Furan- _woah..._ "

I trailed off at the sight of him. Minnie - no, _Masashi_ \- stood by the door, completely clear of any make-up, glamour, or extravagant wigs. He had short, cropped blonde hair and smooth pale skin. Instead of his glamorous dress from yesterday, all Masashi wore was a simple white t-shirt, faded jeans, and rubber shoes. He still had this effeminate flair to him, but out of drag, you could truly see his simple, handsome masculinity. He was just as magnetizing out of drag as he was in it.

Beside him, Naho smiled at me. Those two seemed to have already taken a liking to each other. "What's wrong, Ryuu?" She asked.

"A-Ah, sorry!" Jerked out of my gaze, I quickly apologized to Masashi. "I, uh, just hadn't gotten a good look at you last night. I haven't seen you without your make-up on." I said.

Masashi walked up to the table and took a seat on one of the pod chairs. He crossed his long legs and lounged back confidently, shooting me a small smirk. "Well? You like what you see?"

 _"Oh, most definitely,"_ I said, returning the smirk. "Anyway, Furan actually made everyone breakfast. I'm just helping out. Isn't she the sweetest?"

"Yes, yes, we all get it - you're desperate to get into Furanshishu's pants." Masashi said with a roll of his eyes. "Geez, that's a long-ass name. I'm gonna have to ask her for a nickname or something."

"Hey, that's not true." I pouted. "I'm desperate to get into _everyone's_ pants."

"Gross," Naho said, laughing.

I winked at Naho and walked towards the exit. "I'm going to get the rest of the food. Would you guys tell the others to hurry up for me? I'd hate for Furan's food to go to waste."

The two of them nodded, and I left to collect the rest of the dishes. Once Furan finished up, she helped me carry the plates to the table as well. In pairs and threes, the rest of our class filed into the dinning room, pleasantly surprised by Furan's generosity. We all sat down and adjusted our chairs, smiling at one another and enjoying kind conversations. The energy in the room was so positive, it was hard to believe just yesterday we were told to kill each other. Hope filled up in my chest, I grabbed a seat between Furan and Kara.

"Thank you so much for breakfast, Furanshishu." Ameko said, nodding her head a bit, and Furan waved her hand, mentioning how it wasn't a problem at all.

"Oh, you have a watch." Tsutomu said, noticing the hand she had lifted was the one with her digital watch around her wrist. "What time's it?"

She checked. "8:45am. Does that help you?"

"Yah." He said, short. Tsutomu's eyes were droopier than usual, with even darker eye bags than I had seen the day before. Though that wasn't surprising with the way he was tossing and turning all night. With Furan's answer, Tsutomu discretely pulled a small medical container from his coat pocket. He poured out two pills onto the palm of his hand, swallowed them swfitly, then put the bottle back into his coat like nothing happened - like no one saw. I did though. I wondered what they were for.

"Speaking of Furanshishu..." Masashi said. "Gurl, your name is _waaayyy_ too long. We have _got_ to give you a nickname or something."

"Oh! I vote nicknaming her 'Mom'!" I said, raising my hand. Furan playfully jabbed me in the side.

Ignoring me, Furan addressed Masashi. "R-Right! Of course! We can't waste any time!"

I didn't think the extra syllables really took up that much extra time, but suddenly the whole group was engaged in this discussion.

"I think we should call her Shu-Shu!" Okinawa said with a particularly bright smile.

"That _is_ pretty cute." Ash said.

"Or we could go the other way and call her 'Fur-Fur'." Yume suggested.

"Our 'Fur-Gurl'." Masashi said with a laugh.

"We could literally double any part of her name." Tsutomu said, leaning back into his chair. "'Ran-Ran', 'Shi-Shi'..."

Okinawa giggled and threw her arms in the air. "Shishi-Poopoo!"

"Aren't we missing the fairly obvious answer?" Etsuko asked. "Can we not just call her 'Furan'?"

"Oh, but _I_ already call her that." I blurted out.

"Well then, let's make it easy and say everyone can call me that." Furan said, and I couldn't help being a bit disappointed. I liked that being my thing. "Now that matter's settled, everyone, let's eat! We have a big day ahead of us!"

All of us raised our glasses of orange juice in the air, a collective hum of agreement filling the room. We all dug into our meals, only silent for a minute before someone started more conversation.

"It's not fair only Furan and Ash get cute nicknames. I want one too!" Okinawa whined, face full of food.

"You already asked me to call you 'Oki'." Ash said.

"Oh yeah!" Okinawa said. "Everyone, call me Oki!"

"Sure, sure," Chinami said.

"If we all agree, I think it's time we move on from nicknames," Kara suddenly spoke up, "And talk about something more important. We should talk about... the situation."

"Yeah, how are we going to fix this unfair playing field?" Akira asked, clearly on a completely different set of tracks. "It's not fair you guys have the ability to kill someone whenever you want but I _physically_ can't. How are we gonna undo my brainwashing?"

Taeki spoke up, ignoring Akira completely. "I'd first like to ask a question, i-if it's okay..."

"Of course, Taeki! All opinions and concerns are welcome!" Furan said.

"O-Okay..." He practically whispered. "Does the name _'Hasegawa'_ ring a bell for anyone?"

"I vaguely remember working for a family named Hasegawa." Naho said with a shrug. "Why?"

"Rule #10 clearly states we are in the Hasegawa Mansion. I thought I'd ask if any of you knew who Hasegawa is." Taeki said.

"T-That's kind of a common last name though." Tsuneo said. "I'm sure a handful of us have run into a 'Hasegawa' at some point in their lives."

"It's true. I had two different scientists hire me named Dr. Hasegawa." Ash said.

"Do you know who it is, Taeki?" Ameko asked.

Taeki shook his head. "N-No..."

"Then that unfortunately doesn't get us anywhere." Kara said with a sigh. "I think the best course of action next is to help Chinami clean up the mess from yesterday, then start spreading out, searching the floor more thoroughly, and brainstorming some plans of escape."

"Nah, don't worry, guys." Chinami said. "I can clean it all by myself."

"Y-You don't have to do it on your own, Chinami. I'll help." Kiyomi said, quietly.

Chinami narrowed her eyes a bit. "I'd _rather_ clean it by myself."

"O-Oh. Okay." Kiyomi mumbled.

"It's a smart-ish plan, but is there really any point in doing that?" Yume asked. "I mean, rule #10 says-"

"It's clearly just to mess with us." Etsuko said, rolling her eyes. "Didn't you see how easy that wall broke down the other day?"

"Yes, my point exactly." Kara said. "If the walls are that easy to break down, then maybe this place isn't quite as secured as we're made to believe."

"You know how to make more bombs or something, Kara?" Tsutomu asked with a smirk.

"Obviously not. I'm just an oneirologist. All I'm saying is that could be an option, or maybe there are other ways to escape these walls."

Furan nodded along. "Okay. Do we all agree? Should we focus on searching for possible escapes today?" And to Furan's confident question, everyone at the dinning table nodded along with her. Everyone thought it was the best course of action. Some people even seemed to be more hopeful and determined with that plan. Everyone agreed. Except for one.

 _"Actually..."_

Everyone turned to face me, and I couldn't help but shrink a bit at the attention.

"A-Actually," I repeated. "I think we should put our focus elsewhere."

"Like, on what?" Masashi asked.

I swallowed nervously. "L-Like on forming strong bonds with each other."

"You think we should _not_ try and escape this _killing game_ and to work on our ' _friendship'_ instead?" Etsuko asked.

"...Yes."

Tsutomu laughed out loud. "Ryuu, my man, you make me cringe so hard with that _'friendship is magic'_ shit."

"I'm being serious."

"W-Well, we can easily work on that too as we're looking for a way to escape." Furan said, trying her best to be the middle man.

"No, actually. I don't think we should look for an exit at all." I said, then forced a smile. "Instead, let's throw a party!"

"A... party?" Kiyomi asked.

 _"A! Party!"_ Oki squealed.

"Yes! I mean, we've got the pool, the VR room - why let that go to waste? You all have to admit, this place is pretty cool. We should enjoy the stuff we've been given while we have it. Let's have a pool party or something!" I said.

"You just want to see everyone in their swimsuits." Naho said.

 _"Yes,"_ I pointed at her, "but I also think it'd be fun. It'd be a great way for us to get to know each other better."

Some of the table were nodding along, warming up to the idea, but I could just feel Kara's stare beside me. His disappointment, confusion. I refused to look at him, scared of the embarrassment I'd feel if I actually got a good look at him. I ignored him and kept my eyes elsewhere.

"B-But... Uhm... I-I just don't think it's productive to be throwing a party in this situation." Ash said. "S-Sorry, Ryuu."

"Yes, I think we should really focus on getting out of here before... anyone starts the game." Ameko said, fiddling with her fork.

"Which won't be _me_ , by the way!" Akira grumbled.

I sighed. "Okay. Real talk? The only reason I suggest throwing a party instead is because I'm scared shitless. I didn't get a wink of sleep last night because I was so fucking scared. And I think not everyone here wants to say it out loud, but I'm pretty sure we all feel the same." I paused. _"Okay,_ except maybe Akira and Oki. Look, I love you two - I think you're both adorable in your own kooky ways - but the way you two have reacted to everything is a bit fucking weird. You're being _weird_." They just both gave me blank stares. I couldn't practically see my words just going in one ear and out the other. "Anyway, I think it's very possible that there's physically no way to escape here, which means sooner or later - because we're _human_ \- one or two of us might... snap. And I really, really don't want any of you to die. I think you're all awesome. So instead of trying to find a way to get away from one another, we should learn to love each other and create close bonds. We should learn to enjoy ourselves until someone comes and saves us. If we're all really close, and if we all love each other, our friendships will become what's important to us. And we wouldn't kill what's most important to us."

The dinning room filled with an awful silence as everyone took in my words. Yes, my words were meant to bring hope with words like "love" and "bonds", but there was a heavier meaning behind them. It meant more or less throwing away the lives we had outside the Hasegawa mansion. With motives from previous games that included family, dreams, friends, lovers - we had to let that go, and let our friendships with one another become more important than all that. And that was hard to promise to a group of people we had only met yesterday.

"Okay. I think both Kara and Ryuu make excellent points." Furan finally broke the silence. "Let's do _this:_ let's have some people work with Kara on looking for possible ways of escaping, and let's have some people work with Ryuu and I on the party."

My heart instantly warmed. "W-Wait, really? _You're_ gonna help me?"

"Of course," Furan said. She turned to me, the softest, most genuine smile on her face. All I could think was how she really was too sweet for this world. "So, uh, who else would like to help us?"

"Naho and I will help," Masashi immediately offered.

"Actually, I think I want to help Kara." Naho said. "I've got some ideas I've been wanting to brainstorm some more on."

So Naho might've been a bit more _brain-sy_ than I originally thought. I think Masashi thought the same way too.

"What? But, like, a party's waaayyyy more fun!" Masashi complained.

"I'll help you, Masashi." Ameko said. He looked her up and down.

"Hm. Okay."

Etsuko spoke up next, holding her brother's hand. "Tsuneo and I are going to help Kara. We want to get out of his prison as soon as possible."

 _"R-Right."_ Tsuneo said.

"I'll help too. I-I think I could be of use." Ash said.

"U-Um, me too..." Kiyomi added.

After that, no one else spoke up to work with Kara, so Furan took the initiative and decided the rest of our classmates would help in one way or another with the party. We didn't go into much more detail after that. Instead, we all decided to just enjoy the last of our breakfast. When we finished, Kara spoke to his group, saying that once Chinami was finished cleaning, they'd get together in the dinning hall and talk about their plans. Neither Furan nor I talked about the party anymore, mostly because I didn't really know where to start with that either, but I made note to find Furan later in the afternoon and talk it over with her.

Chinami left the second she was done, forgetting to thank Furan for her meal. Guess she was anxious to get her job done. The others sort of lounged about in the dinning room, driving their chairs over to those they were closer to and making various conversation. Furan began to pick up the plates, but Tsuneo insisted he'd do the dishes for her. I was surprised to see his sister talking to Tsutomu. One: Etsuko hardly broke off from her brother's side, and two: I really didn't think Tsutomu and Etsuko were matching personalities at all. But this _was_ what I wanted. I couldn't help but smile. Our group was surprisingly in a positive state of mind.

I looked up at Tsuneo heading for the door. _This is probably one of the rare times I'm gonna catch the guy without his sister..._

 ** _Should I hang out with Tsuneo?_**

 _ **Yes** / No_

I picked up some plates, called out to Tsuneo, and followed him into the kitchen...

* * *

 _ **Ryuu:**_ _(I spent some time doing dishes with Tsuneo.)_

 _ **Tsueno:**_ R-Ryuu, you didn't have to help... Honestly, I can do it on my own.

 _ **Ryuu:**_ Don't be silly. You shouldn't be doing all this by yourself. And anyway, I thought this would be a good time for us to get to know each other, 'cause, y'know, with your sister...

 _ **Tsuneo:**_ Haha, yeah. We're just very close is all.

 _ **Ryuu:**_ It's not a bad thing! I think it's super sweet. Just hard to get you one on one.

 _ **Tsuneo:**_ ...You really want to get to know me that bad?

 _ **Ryuu:** _Why wouldn't I?

 _ **Ryuu:**_ _(Tsuneo just shrugged, then fell silent.)_

 _ **Ryuu:**_ So, tell me about how you became the Ultimate Florist. That's pretty cool.

 _ **Tsuneo:**_ It is pretty cool, isn't it? I love flowers. They're as meaningful as stories or art, you know. You can say a million things to someone by what flowers and colours you put beside one another.

 _ **Tsuneo:**_ You can express all different kinds of love... Rosas are the most diverse in that regard. Or "roses" as we call them. Red roses obviously represent deep, passionate love, filled with both strong lust and romantic feelings.

 _ **Tsuneo:**_ Lavender roses can also tell someone how much they love you, but it's more of a whimsical, love-at-first-sight kind of feeling.

 _ **Tsuneo:**_ And then you can proclaim your platonic love for someone with yellow roses. Or you can convey admiration with pink roses. Or you can-

 _ **Ryuu:** (Oh, God. He's rambling.)_

 _ **Ryuu:** (I cut him off mid-rose-speech.)_

 _ **Ryuu:**_ H-Hey! That's great! But, uh, you didn't actually answer the question. How did you become the Ultimate Florist?

 _ **Tsuneo:**_ W-Well, y'know. I own a flower shop and one thing led to another and...

 _ **Tsuneo:**_ So, back to what I was saying before, flowers have a lot of symbolism and importance in plenty of movies, artwork, novels. Next time you watch a movie, keep an eye out for what kinds of flowers are shown. There's a lot of symbolic messages told through what specific flowers and colours they use!

 _ **Tsuneo:**_ Lots of gorgeous flowers are used in K-dramas too. Have you ever watched any?

 _ **Ryuu:** (We're way off topic! He just keeps rambling.)_

 _ **Ryuu:**_ Uh, no, I-

 _ **Tsuneo:**_ Oh, really? M-Maybe you should give them a shot. I really enjoy them.

 _ **Ryuu:** (I feel like he's just avoiding the question.)_

 _ **Ryuu:**_ _(Well, he clearly doesn't want to talk about it. Maybe I should just give in and talk about something he likes.)_

 _ **Ryuu:**_ Yeah, sure. If you have one you'd recommend, we should snuggle up and watch one together.

 _ **Tsuneo:**_ Oh, yeah. Okay...

 _ **Ryuu:** _So since you know so much about flowers and their meanings, I'm curious - what kind of flower do you think I'm most like?

 _ **Tsuneo:**_ Ah, that's a fun question. I'd have to get to know you better, but, uh, let me think...

 _ **Tsuneo:**_ Well, the obvious answer would be a red rose, because you're so flirtatious and all, but...

 _ **Tsuneo:** _I actually think you're suited to an anemone sylvestris. O-Or a snowdrop anemone, is what it's usually called.

 _ **Tsuneo:** _It's believed that anemones first sprouted from Aphrodite's tears when she was mourning the death of Adonis.

 _ **Ryuu:** _T-That's kind of sad.

 _ **Tsuneo:**_ A bit, but I feel like that sort of represents you. Like you're so full of love and lust, but there's a sadness underlining all that. I'm not entirely sure what it is, but there's a deeper reason as to why you are the way that you are. You're the embodiment of lust and beauty, you have everything anyone could want, and yet... There're lots of things that keep you up at night.

 _ **Ryuu:**_ _(I was speechless for a moment. I wasn't expecting that response.)_

 _ **Ryuu:**_ _(He clearly took a deeper look into things, which was incredibly flattering.)_

 _ **Ryuu:**_ Wow, Tsuneo.

 ** _Ryuu:_** That's kind of hot.

 _ **Ryuu:**_ _(Tsuneo's face turned an adorable shade of red, and he clumsily dropped the plate he was scrubbing.)_

 _ **Tsuneo:**_ U-Uh, uhm...

 _ **Tsuneo:**_ I-I... Heheheh...

 _ **Ryuu:** (Tsuneo suddenly raced out the door.)_

 _ **Ryuu:**_ _(I laughed. I thought it was cute at first, but then I realized he didn't even finish doing the dishes with me.)_

 _ **Ryuu:** _W-Wait! _Tsuneo!_

 _ **Ryuu:**_ Ah, geez...

* * *

 _ **You just gained a Friendship Cube!**_

 _ **Tsuneo Yokoyama (1/4)**_

Despite my asking, Tsuneo constantly avoided talking about his ultimate talent and how he gained the title. Instead, we talked about how much he loves how flowers can send so many different messages. He also mentioned his love for Korean dramas, which maybe I'll look into. I decided to ask him what kind of flower he thought I was, and he told me I was some type of anemone. Apparently, the myth is that the flower sprung from Aphrodite's tears when she mourned Adonis's death. I'm not sure about that other stuff, but Tsuneo comparing me to Aphrodite was super flattering. What a cutie. I hope I can get him to come out of his shell a little more soon.

* * *

A few minutes after Tsuneo left, the short _Danganronpa~_ tune played from my Monophone again. It couldn't have been the morning or nighttime announcement. Confused, I pulled my Monophone out of my pocket and saw a notification on my Friends app. When I tapped it, it immediately took me to Tsuneo's page, a quarter of the square by his photo now filled. A little message box appeared: _**"You just gained a Friendship Cube! Would you like to send one back?"**_

 _I see._ So Tsuneo thought we'd bonded and sent me a Friendship Cube. I thought the idea was cute, but now I just wondered what would happen if I got them all. I selected _**"Yes"**_ and the animation of a cube flying away from my hologram played.

I put my Monophone away and focused back on the piles of dishes I still had to clean myself. Forty minutes probably passed before I was done. If I wasn't feeling utterly sleep deprived before, I sure felt it now. Yawning, I decided to take Furanshishu's advice and take a nap in my bedroom.

The second my body hit the mattress, I was completely knocked out.

A few hours later, I woke up to an almost empty bedroom. _Taeki,_ who sat on his bed quietly, tapping away at his Monophone, and...

 _Furanshishu?_

I let out a strained groan as I shifted out of the sheets. I propped myself up, sitting on the edge of the mattress. Furan sat across from me, cross-legged on Kara's bed. In front of her was her digital watch, unlatched from her wrist, and she prodded at it with a small screwdriver. She noticed me sit up and waved.

"Good morning, Ryuu!" She said, brightly.

I rubbed my eyes. "What're you doing to your watch?"

"I think it's broken, so I'm trying to fix it." She said. "Usually, it can tell me exactly where my location is, or scan the area and create a 3D diagram of my surroundings, but every time I click those functions, this whole thing shuts down."

"Monokuma or the Gamemaker might've done something to it. It wouldn't be smart to just straight-up tell us where we are."

"I suppose that's true. It's quite rude to touch someone else's things though..."

"Yeah, I don't think Monokuma cares much about being polite." I said. Furan finally gave up after a minute, closing up her watch and wrapping it back around her wrist. "Hey, how did you get in here anyway? I thought rules #3 and #4-"

"Ah, right! Kara and I executed an experiment regarding those two rules." She said. "Did you notice how those two were a bit different than the first two rules? The punishment for breaking rules #1 and #2 is _internal_ _combustion_ , but for rules #3 and #4, it's an _electric shock_. Kara and I both thought that was weird, because an electric shock doesn't seem too bad compared to actually exploding. So we decided to test it out."

 _"T-Test it out?!"_ I panicked, stepping off the bed and walking over to Furan's side. "Are you okay?! It could've been a fatal shock or something!"

"Y-Yes, of course, both Kara and I thought of that. I didn't think the percentage was too high, but we both knew there was a risk of the electric shock being a fatal punishment, so neither of us performed the experiment." She said. " _Tsutomu_ did instead."

Well, that didn't make me feel any better. "Uh... Did he volunteer?"

"Of course! When Kara asked him, he said something along the lines of, _'it can't get much worse for me,'_ or something." She said. _Geez, her and Kara are kind of ruthless._ "Anyway, Tsutomu first tried to open the female bedroom door, but it wouldn't open. I think the door sensed he had a male Monophone on him, so it automatically locked. He tried opening the door without any Monophone at all, and it still wouldn't open. Of course, when I pulled the handle, it opened no problem. So then I tried holding the door open for Tsutomu and letting him through the doorway. He walked in with his Monophone on him, and it immediately released the shock-"

"Shit, is he okay?!" I asked.

"He was fine, albeit a bit frazzled after that. It wasn't that huge of a shock. Anyway, he then tried walking in after leaving his Monophone out in the hall, and he got into the bedroom no problem."

"I see," I said. "So all you need to get around rule #3 and #4 is a girl or a boy to open the door for you."

"Exactly, so Kara let me in here after I left my Monophone outside." She said, smiling. That was good to know. I'd have to thank Tsutomu later for literally risking his life for that test.

"So you made Kara let you in so you could... watch me sleep?" I asked, and Furan immediately blushed. I couldn't help but laugh at how cute her cheeks were, stained red like that.

"N-No! Of course not!" She exclaimed. "No, no. I just thought I'd talk to you about the party, but you were still sleeping, so I thought I'd let you rest a little longer while I fiddled with this." She poked at her watch.

"I'm just teasing," I said, bumping her shoulder. She just blushed more.

"Well, now that you're awake..." She said. "I think the party idea is great. I think keeping everyone's hopes and spirits up will help us in the long run as we try to get out of here. So did you have any ideas?"

"None." I scoffed. "I just came up with the idea this morning."

"Unfortunately, there's not a lot of stuff we can use. We can set up the lights and the water fountain in the pool, but other than that..."

"Well, as long as you've got fun people attending, you don't need much for a party. All you need is a good location, good music, and good food."

Furan snapped her fingers. "Oh! How about we do a potluck? Everyone can make one dish each. There ingredients in the kitchen for all kinds of meals. Then we'll have lots of food."

"Yes! That's a great idea! And I could mix drinks for everyone!" I said. I had some mad mixology skills I was _dying_ to flaunt.

"...Drinks? L-Like alcohol?" She said, her smile dimming. I nodded quickly, but that just seemed to make her smile completely vanish. "Ryuu, how do you know how to mix alcoholic drinks?"

"I had this big bartending job a while back for this client. Learned a lot of stuff."

"But you're a courtesan; why were they hiring you as a bartender?"

"Hm? Bartenders are the best. They get you drunk, supervise you and make sure you don't do anything stupid whilst drunk, and then they listen to your drunk sob stories without any complaints. There's nothing sexier than that."

"Well, I'd argue that, but I guess I wouldn't know. I've never been drinking before." Furan said.

I gasped. "You serious?!"

"Of course! We _are_ underage-"

"Furanshishu, we are _so_ getting you drunk."

Furan's pretty face got all blushy again. She scooted away from me on the bed, and her hands flew up to fiddle with her bandana. " _No, no._ I-I couldn't, Ryuu. Besides, there's no alcohol in the mansion."

"Did you look hard enough?"

"Y-Yes!"

"Well," I said, reaching over and grabbing her arm. "No harm in taking another look!"

A hesitant Furan shuffling behind me, I headed straight for the kitchen and started my serious mission. For the next half-hour, Furan and I hunted the kitchen for any sort of alcohol. Furan mostly searched through the fridges and freezers while I surfed through the pantries and shelves. If there was any, it must've been well-hidden. All of the pantries and fridges were stocked with foods and liquids from all over the world. From instant noodle-boxes to beluga caviar, I could literally have any dish I wanted. And yet, no alcohol. _What kind of boring millionaire owned this mansion?_

I opened up one of the many fruit pantries, and grabbed one of the perfectly ripe avocados. I set it down on the counter and sliced it in half, sighing in defeat. "Guess there really is nothing here..."

"This place was set up for Danganronpa. They probably cleared the mansion of any alcohol or drugs." Furan said, resting her elbows on the counter across from me.

"That's stupid." I pouted. I took one half of the avocado and dug into the centre with a spoon. I then turned around and tilted the fruit towards Furan. "Think fast!"

I flicked the spoon up, flinging the pit of the avocado across the room. Furan gasped, immediately ducking out of aim. The pit fell to the floor and rolled across the tiles until it slipped between the crevice of a freezer and a mini-fridge. I hoped the stupid joke would at least get a bit of laughter out of Furan, but as I walked across the kitchen to retrieve the thrown pit, Furan stayed completely silent. She fiddled with her bandana again.

I crouched down to the floor and pushed the mini-fridge aside. But the second I did, I was surprised to find not only the now-dusty pit of my avocado, but...

A glistening bottle of whiskey.

 _"Oh, hell yes!"_ I shouted. I swiped up the bottle and swung it around for Furan to see. "I am getting _wasted~!"_

 _"You seem like you already are,"_ I swear I heard her mumble, but maybe I heard her wrong. She sighed and shook her head. "I was hoping you wouldn't find that..."

"What?! So you were hiding this from me the whole time?"

"Not specifically _you_ , per se..." She said. "I found it yesterday and tried to hide it. I thought it wouldn't be too smart to include alcohol in a Danganronpa game."

"Don't worry, I'll keep this away from Akira." I said. Really, he was the only person I feared getting intoxicated. Alcohol could undo his brainwashing for all we knew, and that brainwashing was probably the only reason we were still alive.

Before Furan could say anymore, the kitchen door swung open. Oki popped her head in like a little cartoon character.

"Ryuu! Shishi-Poopoo!" Oki squealed. "Chinami cleaned everything up! The pool room is open again!"

"That's excellent, Oki." Furan said, gently.

"What did she even do with all that debris?" I asked.

"Don't know, don't care." Oki said. "More importantly, want to see what I made?! It's _sooooo_ cool!"

"I'll see it later. Now that the laundry room is open again, I want to see if there's any tools I could use to fix my watch in there. But you two have fun." Furan said, patting me on the shoulder.

 _Well, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious about what Oki was up to._

 ** _Should I hang out with Okinawa?_**

 _ **Yes** / No_

"Alright, take me wherever, Oki." I said, holding out my hands to her. Oki's eyes seemed to sparkle at the invitation, which honestly, made me a bit nervous. Still, I let her take my hands and guide me all the way down the now perfectly cleared hall. We entered the pool room together...

* * *

 ** _Ryuu:_** _(Oki continued to pull me through the pool room, until we reached a makeshift, metal boat floating in the water.)_

 _ **Ryuu:**_ What's this?

 _ **Oki:**_ Stupid Ryuu. It's a boat.

 _ **Ryuu:** _I-I know that, Oki. I meant, like, "where did this come from and why is it here?"

 _ **Oki:**_ Oh! I made it myself from the broken pieces of the wall before Chinami cleaned it up. It should be enough to stay afloat.

 _ **Ryuu:** (Oki stepped into the boat and reached out for me.)_

 _ **Oki:**_ C'mon, Ryuu! Step in!

 _ **Ryuu:**_ Oh, I should probably change into my swimsuit first though, in case we fall.

 _ **Oki:** _Ryuu, I'm the _Ultimate Sailor._ I'm not gonna let you fall overboard.

 _ **Ryuu:** (Fair point, I guess.)_

 _ **Ryuu:** (Oki took my hands in hers and held me as I carefully stepped onto her small boat. Up close, I noticed a handful of scars on her wrists I hadn't noticed before. It was fairly obvious where they were from, but the thought hurt to imagine. Oki was so happy all the time. Was there really a time when she...?)_

 _ **Ryuu:** (I decided not to ask about it. That was probably too personal of a conversation. Besides, it could be from something else. We both crossed our legs and sat across from each other, then Oki put her arm in the water and rowed us into the middle of the pool.)_

 _ **Ryuu:**_ So what made you into the Ultimate Sailor, Oki?

 _ **Oki:**_ Oh! Oh! I know the answer to this one!

 _ **Ryuu:**_ _(Obviously...)_

 _ **Oki:**_ Okay, it's a bit of a long story. Strap yourself in.

 _ **Ryuu:**_ _(I pretended to put on my seat belt, and Oki laughed.)_

 _ **Oki:**_ Okay, so when I was thirteen, I wanted to go on a cool adventure like my dad used to do, so I got on one of the row boats my family owned, built a sail for it, and went for the ocean!

 _ **Ryuu:**_ ...On a row boat?

 _ **Oki:**_ Yes! I sailed aimlessly on the ocean for three weeks!

 _ **Ryuu:**_ _(Three weeks?! On a freaking row boat?!)_

 _ **Oki:**_ And then, I woke up one day to find my row boat had hit some sand. I got up and was greeted by a tribe on this small, uncharted island. They were super weird. A little more... _monkey-er,_ haha!

 _ **Oki:**_ I stayed with them for three months, I think. They were so much fun to hang out with! They held festivals almost every night! They called me "Little Sailor Girl", which I thought was _super_ cute.

 _ **Ryuu:** (Okay, none of this sounds believable.)_

 _ **Ryuu:**_ Didn't your dad worry?

 _ **Oki:**_ Probably.

 _ **Oki:**_ Anyway! The tribe helped me build a bigger ship to go home on. It was a whole lot more spacious than my row boat, and it could hold a lot more food so I wasn't so hungry. And, and, _and!_ I also had a Captain's Headquarters built in there! Isn't that awesome?

 _ **Oki:**_ The tribe let me bring a couple of their drawings home as souvenirs, which were just bad stick doodles on big rocks. Then I sailed home on my beautiful ship, hitting five rainstorms, a whirlpool, and a tornado along the way. So annoying...

 _ **Oki:** _But my ship and I got out without a scratch! And then when I got back, a whole bunch of people interviewed me. And some people even sponsor all my trips now! I'm like a famous person and stuff!

 _ **Ryuu:**_ I'm more worried about how awful you must've made your father feel, just up and leaving like that.

 _ **Oki:** _Oh, yeah, he cried and stuff. But what's more important is how _awesome_ that adventure was! I dream of sailing back to that tribe once I graduate and I've got my freedom.

 _ **Ryuu:** (Geez, I feel for her dad. This girl's such a handful.)_

 _ **Ryuu:** _So...

 _ **Ryuu:** (-if this kooky, obviously-made-up story is true-)_

 _ **Ryuu:** _-how come I haven't heard about the discovery of such an island?

 _ **Ryuu:**_ _(Oki started to rock her weight side to side, making the boat nearly tilt over. I nervously gripped the sides of the boat.)_

 _ **Oki:** _Hahah! That's 'cause I won't bring anyone else to it! I want it _aaallllllll_ to myself!

 _ **Ryuu:**_ T-That's a bit-

 _ **Oki:**_ _Weeeeee!_

 _ **Ryuu:** (Suddenly, Oki leaned to far to the side, making the boat flip all the way over. The two of us tumbled into the water.)_

 _ **\- SPLASH! -**_

 _ **Ryuu:**_ _AAAAGHH!_

* * *

 _ **You just gained a Friendship Cube!**_

 _ **Okinawa Otonari (1/4)**_

Oki took me to the pool room, showing me a boat she built using the materials from the blown-up wall. We went for a little ride in the pool, and I noticed some scars on her wrists that I decided not to point out. She told me all about how she became the Ultimate Sailor, though her story sounds a little too outrageous for me to believe. Apparently, she sailed out one day on a row boat, just coasting until she found some mysterious island full of humans that were less-evolved than us. She stayed there for three months, not worried about her family at all. Once she got back, she had a little bit of fame from her insane adventure. Everyone wants where she went, but she won't say. She wants the knowledge to herself. She also got my nice tie wet. _Geez..._

* * *

Once I got back to the bedroom, I squeezed out all the water from my clothes into the shower drain and changed into my extra pair. Sighing, I walked up to the mirror and wrapped my tie around my neck. I was just going to let it dangle as I usually did, but when I looked in the mirror, Kara's suggestion came back to me. _Do up your tie and try to look like a proper gentleman._

"..." I pressed my lips together.

Maybe that's what I needed. Maybe I needed to clean myself up, act more mature. Maybe that'd get us out of here.

Maybe I was wrong with my alcohol and my parties. Maybe I was wrong with my smiles and my Friendship Cubes. Maybe the truth was, we just needed to get as far away from each other as possible. Because what if this doesn't work? I might be sending one of us to our death, bringing everyone together in one place to drink and party. The closer you are to your friends, the easier it is to kill them, isn't it?

"...Maybe I need to be more like Kara." I said to myself in the mirror.

I tightened my tie around my neck.

Then my phone let out a ding.

It was the same sound that played when PinkSkull first messaged us. Panic rising in my chest, I reached over for my Monophone on the counter and clicked the notification on my **ChatPal** app. However, it wasn't a message from PinkSkull...

 **KOPIKA:** _Don't say that. Don't be Kara. Be you._

"What the hell is this...?"

* * *

 _ **BAM. DONE. THANKS FOR READING.**_

 _ **Let me know what you think about the format for the FTEs. I think it works a bit better, it's easier to read, and it makes them a bit quicker too. I will probably use the script format for Class Trials as well. If y'all hate it, I'll readjust it :)**_

 ** _Remember your homework, kids: go to my profile and vote on the FTE poll! Otherwise, there are no other assignments I am giving you as your teacher. It'll be a while before I update again, so you guys have, like, a month to do it. Hahah... hah... *cries*_**

 _ **Until next time!**_

 _ **-hurgleplargh**_


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